Abkhazia and South Ossetia

Lord Rea: To ask Her Majesty's Government why they are advising travellers not to visit Abkhazia and South Ossetia; and what reports they have received of any difficulties experienced by United Kingdom citizens visiting those countries.

Baroness Warsi: We advise British citizens not to travel to the Georgian breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as we judge there to be continued humanitarian and security issues following the 2008 war between Georgia and Russia; and there is no UK diplomatic representation available in these Georgian breakaway regions, significantly limiting the Government's ability to assist travellers in emergency situations.
	We have had no recent reports of any difficulties experienced by UK visitors to the regions. The advice, which is reviewed regularly, is based on the situation on the ground rather than specific cases.

Abortion

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 4 February (WA 1), which mothers' countries of origin display a gender imbalance in the birth ratio, and what in each case is the size of that imbalance.

Earl Howe: Recent analysis has shown that women from some countries had birth ratios different from that of the United Kingdom as a whole; i.e. 100 female births to 105 male births. There are many possible causes of these ratios. The department is carrying out further analysis of related data. We do not consider it is in the public interest to disclose details of the countries in question while this analysis is under way as it is not currently possible to conclude that these variations are the result of intervention rather than natural variation.

Abortion

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they intend to take to ensure that the law on abortion is adhered to in the light of the assertions in the BBC "Panorama" broadcast of 4 February 2013 that doctors routinely notify abortions on the grounds of a threat to the mental health of the mother when no evidence of any such threat exists.

Earl Howe: Abortion is legal only if carried out under the terms of the Abortion Act 1967 (as amended). An abortion performed under Section 1(1)(a) or Section 1(1)(b) of the Abortion Act (the continuance of pregnancy would involve risk, greater than if the pregnancy were terminated, of injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman, or any existing children in her family) may be determined by taking account of the pregnant woman's actual or foreseeable environment. Each woman's individual circumstances should be assessed to enable doctors to reach their opinion in good faith.
	Allegations of terminations carried out outside the Abortion Act are taken extremely seriously and doctors, or other health professionals, failing to adhere to the Abortion Act will be referred to the police.

Abortion

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 5 February (WA 27), what estimate they have made of the cost of testing aborted foetuses to ascertain (1) their gender, and (2) the nature of any disability from which they suffered; and what consideration they will give to monitoring to ensure the effective implementation of the law on abortion.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 5 February (WA 27), whether it is a matter for Her Majesty's Government or for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists to decide whether testing of aborted foetuses should be required to ascertain (1) their gender, and (2) the nature of any disability from which they suffered, in order to ensure effective monitoring of the implementation of the law on abortion.

Earl Howe: No estimate has been made of the cost of testing aborted foetuses to ascertain their gender. Although we keep all evidence under review, we currently have no plans to introduce such a practice. United Kingdom birth ratios are within normal limits. However, we continue to closely monitor ratios and related data. If indications or evidence should emerge of sex-selective abortions being performed, we would work with relevant bodies to discuss evidence-based steps and actions to address this issue. In addition, if anyone had specific evidence of sex-selective abortions being performed, we would refer to the police to investigate.
	The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists produced a report in June 2010, Termination of Pregnancy for Fetal Abnormality in England, Scotland and Wales. This report is intended to help doctors and other health professionals, within the law, to support women and their families when a foetal abnormality is diagnosed. It is designed to be explanatory rather than prescriptive. The report highlights that, following a termination performed for a foetal abnormality, pathological examination of the foetus may be undertaken in addition to that undertaken pre-procedure as part of diagnostic testing. This might be at the request of the clinician, with parental consent, or the parents and is to ascertain the cause of the disability. Experience from foetal diagnosis is leading to a better understanding of the natural history of many foetal disorders and has improved prognostic information for parents in relation to future pregnancies.

Abortion

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 5 February (WA 27), whether they, or the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, require an impartial translator to be present when doctors are consulted by women in relation to abortions if those women do not have a good command of the English language; and whether any such consultations are required to be undertaken without family members being present.

Earl Howe: In its clinical guideline The Care of Women Requesting Induced Abortion, of November 2011, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists recommends that, "Services should be culturally sensitive and professional interpreters should be available if required" and that "while women may choose to use family or friends as interpreters, in gaining consent to a procedure the provider needs to be absolutely certain that the woman is fully consenting. This can be guaranteed only if an independent professional interpretation service is used".
	The guideline also states that services should make sure that "written, objective, evidence-guided information is available for women considering abortion to take away before the procedure. Information should be available in a variety of languages and formats". It also says that services should identify issues which make women particularly vulnerable including violence or abuse, in particular girls under the age of 16 should be given "the chance to disclose during a private moment when a parent or adult is not present". In practice, most abortion services have a policy that all women should be seen on their own at some stage, without a partner or family member present, to ensure there is no coercion or other issue affecting the decision-making process.

Africa: Tourism

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to give additional aid to African countries reliant on wildlife-based tourism in order to support efforts to conserve wildlife.

Baroness Northover: DfID is giving a £9.2 million grant to the World Wildlife Fund UK (WWF-UK) over three years from 2011 to 2014. The grant focuses on supporting programmes in Tanzania, Kenya and Nepal where WWF trains communities to safeguard ecosystems and supports local organisations to improve government and private sector policies and practices on low-carbon development sustainability and the use of natural resources.
	In 2012 Defra gave £8.5 million to 33 new projects under the Darwin Initiative, which has backed wildlife conservation projects in some of the world's poorest countries for the last two decades. Many of these were in Africa, including a project in Liberia to build the capacity of the next generation of conservation professionals.

Agriculture: Pesticides

Lord Rea: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have adjusted their risk assessment methodology for pesticides to test the safety of systemic pesticides such as nicotinoids; and, if not, whether they plan to do so, and when.

Lord De Mauley: The current EU risk assessment for systemic pesticides applied as seed treatments, pellets, or granules considers risks to honey bees foraging flowering crops grown from seed or in soil treated with such products. Data are collected from semi-field or field studies. In the last two years, two international risk assessment schemes have been developed that outline step-wise procedures which, in the first instance, use information on the likely exposure in pollen and/or nectar and data on the toxicity of honey bees under laboratory conditions. If there is the likelihood of concern then further data, for example from semi-field or field studies, may be requested. The European Food Safety Authority is considering these schemes along with other information in developing a new bee risk assessment scheme for use by all member states. UK experts are contributing to this work.

Agriculture: Pesticides

Lord Rea: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the length of time residues of nicotinoid pesticides can remain in soil after a treated crop has been harvested, and of the take-up of those pesticides by wild plants.

Lord De Mauley: An assessment of the environmental fate and behaviour of pesticides in air, soil and water is a standard requirement in the EU pesticides regime. It includes an assessment of persistence and mobility for both the active substance and metabolites or degradation products formed in the environment. For persistent compounds, there is an assessment of the potential to accumulate in soil. There is also a consideration of the possibility of residues occurring in crops planted in the soil after crops previously treated with neonicotinoids were grown. In all cases, the current assessments of neonicotinoids meet the regulatory requirements.

Arab Spring

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the European Union response to the Arab Spring: the state of play after two years.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: In May 2011, the EU launched the revised Neighbourhood Policy-A Partnership for Democracy and Shared Prosperity. Progress on implementation has been mixed, in part due to the transitory position of many Governments in southern Mediterranean countries and the longer-term nature of the EU's response, but also due to political sensitivities in some EU member states over moving ahead with ambitious offers in areas such as trade.
	In terms of financial support, the EU has allocated approximately €660 million of new funding for the southern neighbourhood. In Tunisia, bilateral grant funding has increased by around 40% from 2010. The EU has also leveraged external funding, primarily through the European Investment Bank, of around €1 billion and has increased its focus and funding for the development of civil society. We have seen measures to improve prioritisation of EU support and increased focus on tangible ways to assess progress through new generation action plans.
	However, the EU has not succeeded in fully implementing the policy of conditionality and "more for more" or "less for less" consistently. Progress on trade agreements has also been slow. The EU agreed mandates for deep and comprehensive free trade agreements with four southern Mediterranean countries -Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt and Jordan in December 2011. It will have taken 14 months to launch negotiations on the first of these-due to take place in Morocco on 26 February. Tunisia will be the second but there is no certainty around dates. For Egypt and Jordan, tangible progress is still some way off.

Asylum Seekers

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Taylor of Holbeach on 6 February (WA 57-8), where is the major point of illegal entry to the United Kingdom by asylum seekers first registered in Greece; what response they have received from the European Commission regarding their expressed concern about the low number of fingerprint matches from asylum seekers who have entered the European Union illegally via Greece; and whether they will finance European Convention on Human Rights-compliant accommodation in Greece specifically for such returned asylum seekers.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The nature of illegal migration makes it impossible to establish with certainty how and where illegal immigrants evade our controls but we have observed that those who seek to enter the UK illegally tend to do so either with the use of forged documentation or clandestinely, often by targeting channel ports. However, we have tough measures in place to combat these risks, which involve the border force working closely with our French and Belgian partners in order to detect and disrupt individuals seeking to evade border checks in northern France and Belgium. Other preventive measures include research and analysis of migration trends, debriefing of illegal migrants in the UK and work with our partners in the UK and abroad to gather intelligence about migration routes.
	In 2012, FRONTEX increased its operational activity at the Greek land border with Turkey. As part of those operations FRONTEX assists local law enforcement authorities with technologies and processes that encourage the correct registration of illegal migrants in Greece. Within the updated Greek action plan, submitted to and approved by the Commission, there are specific actions designed to improve the recording of fingerprints at the border.
	We continue to offer practical support to Greece via the European Asylum Support Office (EASO), including expertise on the management of asylum systems and reception centres in order to build capacity there. The Government have no plans to provide bilateral financing for accommodation for asylum seekers in Greece but building reception facilities that meet relevant human rights standards is a key part of the Greek action plan on asylum and migration, which is being supported by EASO.

Asylum Seekers

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many asylum applicants whose cases have been outstanding for 12 months have so far applied for permission to work in the United Kingdom; how many applications have been granted; and how they are publicising that right.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: At the end of October 2012 (the most recently published data) there were 2,903 asylum applicants (including dependants) with cases pending an initial decision after 12 months or more. The department does not routinely collate the specific information on how many of those have applied for permission to work, and to do so would incur disproportionate cost. Detailed guidance about our permission to work policy is published on our external website at: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/ asylum/support/employment.

Bahrain

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are supporting current attempts by the European Union to assist genuine national reconciliation and the implementation of human rights norms in Bahrain.

Baroness Warsi: The Bahraini Government have asked the international community for their assistance in implementing the reforms necessary to improve the human rights situation. We strongly support them in this effort, and whether bilaterally or multilaterally through the EU we remain committed to providing assistance where appropriate for the benefit of all Bahrainis.

Bangladesh

Baroness Crawley: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they most recently discussed human rights violations in Bangladesh with the Government of Bangladesh; and what specific cases were raised during those discussions.

Baroness Warsi: I raised the issue of human rights violations in Bangladesh with the Bangladesh Foreign Minister, Dr Dipu Moni, when I met her in December. More recently, when our High Commissioner in Dhaka, Robert Gibson met the Bangladesh Foreign Secretary, Mr Md. Shahidul Haque, on 28 January, he raised among other things, the International Crimes Tribunal, disappearances, including the specific case of Ilias Ali, political violence, the Rohingyas, and the rule of law.
	Human rights remain a crucial component of our bilateral and multilateral discussions with Bangladesh. We also provide a range of human rights assistance to Bangladesh on the rule of law and democracy as part of our capacity building programmes. Such assistance is fully in line with UK values and international human rights standards.

Bangladesh

Baroness Crawley: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will discuss with the Government of Bangladesh the imprisonment of the Acting General Secretary of the Bangladesh Opposition Party, Mirza Fakrul Islam Alamgir.

Baroness Warsi: Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Acting General Secretary of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, has been released from imprisonment.
	The British Government will not be raising this specific case with the Bangladesh Government. We will continue to raise the importance of the judiciary and law enforcement being impartial during meetings with the Bangladesh Government, including when I visit this month.

Bangladesh

Baroness Crawley: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will discuss with the Government of Bangladesh the case of Mahmudur Rahman, who has been held under office arrest for over two months in Bangladesh.

Baroness Warsi: Mahmudur Rahman is not officially under office arrest. He is refusing to leave office in order to avoid arrest. The British Government will not be raising this specific case with the Bangladesh Government.
	We will continue to raise the importance of an impartial, transparent judicial process, which adheres to the rule of law with the Bangladesh Government, including when I visit this month.
	The British Government support the role of responsible media in a democratic society.

Bangladesh

Baroness Crawley: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they most recently discussed with the Government of Bangladesh reported abuses by Bangladesh law enforcement agencies, including the Rapid Action Battalion.

Baroness Warsi: We regularly raise our serious concerns about any allegations of human rights abuses, including by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), with the Bangladeshi Government.
	We welcome the Bangladesh Government's assurances that they are committed to protecting human rights and recognise the positive progress that has been made across a range of social development indicators. But allegations of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearance are deeply concerning. We call on the Bangladesh Government to conduct an impartial, credible, and transparent investigation into all such allegations.

Banking: LIBOR

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty's Government which British-based banks have been fined for manipulation of the LIBOR or other infringements since 1 January 2010; what were the amounts involved; by whom were any fines imposed; to what extent banks' assets comprising taxpayer rescue packages have had to be paid to overseas countries; and to what extent and for what purpose United Kingdom fines have been imposed.

Lord Deighton: To date, two British-based banks have been fined by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and other regulatory authorities. The fines are imposed to punish the misconduct that has taken place and to deter future misconduct of a similar nature. Barclays was fined £59.5 million by the FSA for misconduct which breached its principles for business and fined $360 million by US regulators. The Royal Bank of Scotland was fined £87.5 million by the FSA for misconduct which breached its principles for business and fined $475 million by US regulators.
	The Government have made it clear to RBS that, on this occasion, the US fines should be met in full from past, present and future reductions in bonuses and variable remuneration for RBS, and not by the taxpayer.

Banks: Iceland

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Deighton on 28 January (WA 263), and in the light of the recent decision by the Court of the European Free Trade Association against the United Kingdom, what is the current net amount owed by each failed Icelandic bank and an indication of the retrieval methods they intend to or are using in each case.

Lord Deighton: The Government expect full recovery of the amount that Iceland is liable for regarding failed banks.
	During 2011-12, the administrator for Icesave paid out dividends to HM Treasury and the FSCS of £1.3 billion. Of this, £0.4 billion was used by the Financial Service Compensation Scheme to repay part of the loan with HM Treasury, £0.7 billion was allocated to the Depositors' and Investors' Guarantee Fund share of the loan and the remaining £0.2 billion was used to reimburse HM Treasury for its statutory debt payments for deposit balances in excess of £50,000.
	On 28 January, the European Free Trade Association Surveillance Authority lost its case in the Court of the European Free Trade Association against Iceland for breach of its obligations under the EU deposit compensation arrangements. The UK was an interested party in the case because a ruling against Iceland would have allowed the Government to seek interest from Iceland for the pre-financing of £2.3 billion of compensation paid out to UK depositors of Landsbanki h.f.'s UK branch in place of the Icelandic Depositors' and Investors' Guarantee Fund when it failed during the financial crisis.
	Details of HM Treasury's claims in the administration of Landsbanki h.f., Heritable Bank Plc and Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander Ltd (KSF) are set out in Sections 30, 31 and 33 of the Treasury Annual Reports and Accounts 2011-12.1
	Further details will be published in the Treasury Annual Reports and Accounts 2012-2013 later this year.
	1 222.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/hm_annual_report_2012.pdf

Barnett Formula

Lord Wigley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have received during the past six months from the Welsh Government in relation to their entitlement to consequential payments under the provisions of the Barnett Formula.

Lord Deighton: HM Government have ongoing discussions with the Welsh Government on issues relating to public spending, including the operation of the Barnett formula.

Benefits

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have changed the rules or guidance on eligibility for housing benefit after the decision at a Social Security Tribunal in the Vasile case in Bristol in 2012; and, if not, why not.

Lord Freud: There are no plans to change the rules or guidance related to housing benefit as a result of this case.
	A person who is not "habitually resident" in the United Kingdom is not entitled to housing benefit. The Social Security Tribunal has ruled that the claimant in this case is habitually resident and, subject to the other eligibility rules, entitled to housing benefit.

Benefits

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government on what grounds they pay child benefit and child tax credit to European Union nationals in the United Kingdom for children left behind in European Union states; which and what proportion of European Union member states do not pay for the children of resident United Kingdom nationals left behind in the United Kingdom; whether such payments are requirements of EC Regulation 883/2004; and whether they will support a modification of the amounts paid to reflect the cost of living in the country where a child is resident or the equivalent rate.

Lord Deighton: Child benefit and child tax credit is intended to help families in the UK. Generally, therefore, it is not payable in respect of children resident outside the UK. However, both child benefit and the child tax credit are classed as "family benefits" under the EC social security co-ordinating Regulations (EC Regulation 883/2004 and 987/2009) which the UK has administered since it joined the European Economic Community in 1973 and is payable to EEA nationals in respect of members of their family resident in another member state.
	The EC Regulations are directly applicable to all member states in equal measure. Nationals of other EEA member states who are working in the UK and paying compulsory UK national insurance contributions are entitled to claim UK family benefits in respect of children living in another member state. Similarly, UK nationals working and paying social security contributions in another member state are entitled to that member state's family benefits in respect of their children resident in the UK.

Benefits

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that pensioners claim the benefits to which they are entitled.

Lord Freud: The Government are committed to ensuring pensioners receive the support they are entitled to.
	The latest estimates of take-up of all income-related benefits in 2009-10 were published in February 2012. The take-up report is available online at: http://statistics. dwp.gov.uk/asd/income analysis/feb2012/tkup full report 0910.pdf.
	The Department for Work and Pensions makes information available in various locations (for example, our website at www.gov.uk, and leaflets available from our DWP information line on 0845 7313233) to ensure that people are aware of the benefits to which they may be entitled and how to claim them. In addition, the department is actively involved with around 4,000 local community partnerships across England, Scotland and Wales which provide a wide range of advice and support for pensioners.
	The department writes to people up to four months before they reach their state pension age explaining their options, including how to claim their state pension or how to defer receiving it until later. State pension can be claimed online, by phone, or by submitting a claim form. When a customer makes a claim to state pension or reports a change in their circumstances, a customer adviser will also discuss a pension credit application with those who may be entitled. There is also a visiting service available to support vulnerable customers who are unable to access its services through other channels, such as telephony, post or online
	Pensioners can, where eligible, claim housing benefit and council tax benefit alongside pension credit in a single phone call, without the need for a signed claim form. Calls to the 0800 claims number from a BT landline or from the six largest mobile phone networks are free.
	Further information on benefits is also available on the department's website: https://www.gov.uk/browse/benefits.

Benefits

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they have transposed the requirement in Directive 2004/38/EC that "persons exercising their right of residence should not, however, become an unreasonable burden on the social assistance system of the host member state during an initial period of residence"; how they define "initial period" in regulations; and to which social security housing benefits they have not applied this directive.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006 transpose Directive 2004/38/EC. Regulation 13 states that EEA nationals or their family members who become an unreasonable burden on the social assistance system of the United Kingdom during the initial period of residence do not have a right to reside in the UK. Directive 2004/38/EC defines the "initial period" of residence as three months and the same definition is used in the regulations. Housing benefit is categorised as social assistance and this part of the directive applies to it. There are no housing benefits to which this directive is not applied.

British Citizenship

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government where the Life in the UK test centres are located.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: There are 64 test centres located across the UK.
	The full details of test centre locations are in the table below.
	
		
			 Name Address Post code 
			 Life Skills Custom House 26 - 32 Guild Street  Aberdeen  AB11 6GY 
			 Force One Training 13 Basildon Business Centre Bentalls  Basildon Essex SS14 3FT 
			 People 1st Suite 1, Ormeau House 91-97 Ormeau Road  Belfast  BT7 1SH 
			 East Birmingham Community Forum Limited The Jet Shop 75 Alum Rock Road, Saltley Birmingham  B8 1LY 
			 Birmingham Metropolitan College - Magnolia House Magnolia House Learndirect Centre Conybere Street  Birmingham  B12 0YL 
			 Community Training Portal, Blackburn 2nd Floor, Regent House Regent Street  Blackburn  BB1 6BH 
			 Yorkshire Business School-Bradford 43 North Parade   Bradford  BD1 3JH 
			 Woodspeen Training Ltd Lower Ground Floor Hanover House 118 Queens Road Brighton East Sussex BN1 3XG 
			 Easton Learning Centre 280-282 Stapleton Road Easton  Bristol  BS5 0NW 
			 Cardiff and Vale College 35 The Parade   Cardiff  CF24 3AD 
			 Ecom Learning Solutions Ltd Unit 4B Newlands Science Park Regents Court Nettlefold Road Cardiff  CF24 5JQ 
			 PHX Training Ltd Carlisle 3-5 Victoria Place Carlisle  Carlisle  CA1 1ES 
			 Numidia Education & Training Ltd 10 Park Road Coventry  Coventry  CV1 2LA 
			 Learning Curves aka CALAT 217 High Street (Leon House Precinct; left corner shop front entrance)   Croydon Surrey CR9 1LJ 
			 Business Advice Direct Derby First Floor St Peter's House Gower Street Derby  DE1 1SB 
			 Dundee College, Gardyne Campus Gardyne Road   Dundee  DD5 1NY 
			 STEP 2 Coalisland Rd   Dungannon Co. Tyrone BT71 6JT 
			 Eastleigh Learning Centre Grayton House 26a High Street  Eastleigh Hampshire SO50 5LD 
			 Pitman Training Centre Edinburgh 26 York Place   Edinburgh  EH1 3EP 
			 TABs Exeter Exeter Community Centre St David's Hill  Exeter  EX4 3RG 
			 Glasgow Test Centre Room BG12, City of Glasgow College City Campus 60 North Hanover Street Glasgow  G1 2BP 
			 PDA (Training) LTD 107 - 109 Lewisham High Street Lewisham  Greater London  SE13 6AZ 
			 Gutersloh e-LC 51 AEC Princess Royal Barracks  Gutersloh Germany BFPO 47 
			 Harrow College Adult Learners Centre Harrow-on-the-Hill Campus Lowlands Road  Harrow Middlesex HA1 3AQ 
			 Hohne e-LC 42 AEC Haig Barracks  Hohne Germany BFPO 30 
			 learndirect Ipswich 3rd Floor, Hubbard House 6 Civic Drive  Ipswich  IP1 2QA 
			 Go Train Maidstone 21-22 Fairmeadow  Maidstone Kent  ME14 1LS 
			 Business Support & Development Ltd Leeds 50 a (Upper Balcony) Merrion Centre  Leeds  LS2 8DB 
			 learndirect Leicester 1 Colton Square   Leicester  LE1 1QH 
			 Business Advice Direct Lincoln Unit 15 Oak House, Witham Park, Waterside Lincoln Lincolnshire  LN5 7FB 
			 Connect Internet Solutions 4th Floor, New Barratt House 47 North John Street  Liverpool Merseyside L2 6SG 
			 ABAAS Forest Gate 11 Burford Road Stratford  London  E15 2SP 
			 Akshar IT Centre 54-62 Meadow Garth Brent  London  NW10 8HD 
			 Computer Learning Centre 65 Kingsley Road Hounslow Middlesex London  TW3 1QB 
			 Exchange Group - Wimbledon c/o Wimbledon Library 35 Wimbledon Hill Road  London  SW19 7NB 
			 Exchange Group Brixton c/o Brixton Library Brixton Hill Parade  London  SW2 1JQ 
			 Exchange Group Hendon c/o Hendon Library The Burroughs Hendon London  NW4 4BQ 
			 Intech Centre 362 Essex Road Islington  London  N1 3PD 
			 The Learning Line 182 High Street North East Ham  London  E6 2JA 
			 Southgate College High Street Southgate  London  N14 6BS 
			 Iranian Association 222 King Street   London  W6 0RA 
			 Ultimate Learning Ltd 593 Hitchin Road, Stopsley  Luton  LU2 7UN 
			 Exchange Group - Maidenhead c/o Maidenhead Library St Ives Road  Maidenhead  SL6 1QU 
			 Business Advice Direct Manchester Fourways House 57 Hilton Street  Manchester  M1 2EJ 
			 The Hope Foundation Hope House 1 Grange Road  Middlesbrough  TS1 5BA 
			 ID Training, Newcastle Westgate Community College West Road  Newcastle upon Tyne  NE4 9LU 
			 Northampton College Lower Mounts   Northampton  NN1 3DE 
			 VRDS 4 Hartford Business Centre Chester Road Hartford Northwich Cheshire CW8 2AB 
			 Care Training East Midlands Ltd Clinton House Clinton Terrace Derby Road Nottingham  NG7 1LY 
			 TABS Oxford Suites 38 - 40 The Westgate Centre  Oxford Oxfordshire OX1 1NU 
			 Peterborough College of Adult Education (PCAE) Brook Street   Peterborough Cambridgeshire PE1 1TU 
			 TABs Plymouth 3rd Floor Royal London House 153-155 Armada Way  Plymouth Devon PL1 1HY 
			 Best Training Poole (aka Best2Train) Stone Maiden Ltd. Best Training Unit A Mitre Court 16 Commercial Road Poole Dorset BH14 0JW 
			 Pride in Pompey Portsmouth City Council 16 Guildhall Walk  Portsmouth  PO1 2DD 
			 Best Training Sheffield 9 Westbrook Court Sharrow Vale Road  Sheffield  S11 8YZ 
			 Pitman Training, Swindon Cheltenham House 45 Regent Street  Swindon  SN1 1JS 
			 Exchange Group - Wolverhampton c/o Wolverhampton Central Library Snow Hill  Wolverhampton  WV1 3AX 
			 Best Computer Training Milton Keynes Brickhill House 701 South Fifth Street  Milton Keynes  MK9 2PR 
			 Deeside College Kelsterton Road Connahs Quay  Flintshire  CH5 4BR 
			 IB2K Learning Unit 4B Newlands Science Park Off Inglemire Lane  Hull  HU67TQ 
			 Merkinch Technology Centre 14 Grant Street Inverness  Inverness  IV3 8BL 
			 MIC Streatham 118 Streatham High RoadLondon SW16 1BW 
			 Pitman Training Norwich The Forum, 2 Millennium Plain Bethel Street  Norwich  NR2 1TF 
			 Progression 2 26B Town Centre Wellfield Road,  Hatfield, Herts AL10 0LD

British Citizenship

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government what precautions were made to validate the accuracy of the information in the Life in the UK Test Study Guide.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The Life in the UK Test Study Guide is published by The Stationery Office (TSO) to help candidates taking the Life in the UK test. The study guide that is currently available is based on the previous edition of the Life in the UK handbook, which was published in 2007. Some of the information in the old handbook, and consequently the study guide, is out of date. A new handbook was published on 28 January. TSO intends to publish a revised study guide, to accompany the new handbook, very shortly. Best endeavours were made to ensure the accuracy of the new handbook, which underwent a thorough quality assurance process.

Burma

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Burmese Ambassador to the United Kingdom about arrests in Burma under the right to protest law.

Baroness Warsi: Ministers have not raised our concerns under the right to protest law specifically, but continue to raise our concerns with regards to the need for improved political freedoms more generally.
	The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right honourable friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), raised our concerns regarding political prisoners and freedom of expression with the Burmese Government during his visit to Burma on 12 to 15 December. The same issues were also raised by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Member for Richmond (Yorkshire) (Mr Hague) and Mr Swire with the Burmese Ambassador and the Burmese Foreign Minister on 11 February, during the latter's recent visit to the UK.
	Government officials will continue to monitor these issues and engage with Burmese counterparts on them.

Burma

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Government of Burma on the formation of a joint domestic and international board with the involvement of the United Nations to investigate the numbers of political prisoners remaining in Burma's prisons.

Baroness Warsi: We regularly raise the continued detention of political prisoners with senior members of the Burmese Government. Most recently, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right honourable friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), and the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right honourable friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), raised our concerns with the Burmese Foreign Minister during our meeting in London on 11 February. Our Ambassador to Burma also met with a senior Burmese Minister on 16 January and encouraged progress on the implementation of the review. In all our discussions with the Burmese Government we continue to emphasise the need for the review mechanism to be inclusive, credible and transparent.
	We welcome the Burmese President's announcement on 7 February that a committee is to be set up to review the cases of those political prisoners who remain detained. It is also encouraging that the President has asked for the committee to include not only government ministers but also representatives of civil society organisations and political parties.
	We will be monitoring developments closely and will continue to call for the unconditional release of all political prisoners at every opportunity.

Burma

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the United Kingdom Ambassador to Burma has met the new leadership of the Karen National Union.

Baroness Warsi: Our ambassador has not met the new Karen National Union (KNU) since the change in leadership last December. Officials at our embassy in Rangoon have met the KNU on numerous occasions over the last year and plan to meet the new KNU leadership at the earliest opportunity. We are also funding peace and reconciliation experts to support both the KNU and the United Nationalities Federation Council, a collection of the political wings of ethnic armed groups, in their approach to negotiations, and in drafting a framework for political dialogue.

Burma

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have taken or intend to take any action to assist the Government of Burma in the development of mobile telecommunications in that country.

Baroness Warsi: We continue to explore ways to assist British companies interested in investing in Burma as part of our broader commitment to promoting ethical and responsible investment in support of Burma's democratic reform process. Our new UK Trade & Investment team in Rangoon is closely monitoring the Burmese telecommunications sector and supporting interested British companies as appropriate.

Burma

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty's Government which organisations will be distributing British aid for internally displaced people in areas of Burma controlled by the Kachin Independence Organisation.

Baroness Northover: For the safety and security of the organisations working in conflict areas it is not appropriate to make such details public.

Burma

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of British aid to Burma goes directly to indigenous Burmese organisations.

Baroness Northover: DfID directly funds one indigenous Burmese organisation. While this amounts to less than 1% of the total funding allocation for Burma over the four-year spending period, indigenous Burmese organisations do receive significant UK aid through multi-donor funds and through international non-governmental organisations which DfID funds. The UK is investing in helping Burmese organisations to build capacity for their future which will help them reach the high financial and management requirements we set for all partners we support.

Burma

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty's Government what advice they give to companies interested in trading and investing in Burma.

Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint: Since the suspension of EU sanctions in April 2012, the British Government have made a commitment to promoting responsible trade and investment in support of Burma's democratic reform process. A UKTI office in Rangoon opened in July 2012 and provides a full range of UKTI services to help companies to understand the market and key areas of opportunity.
	UKTI offers a practical guide for business in Burma, which is available through the UKTI website and which includes advice on the suspension of EU sanctions. The British Government urge all UK companies entering Burma to abide by international standards of corporate governance and social and environmental responsibility. In particular, this means adhering to the OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises and the UN's guiding principles on business and human rights.

Burma

Baroness Nye: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assistance they are giving to the Government of Burma in relation to reviewing and drafting laws in Burma.

Baroness Northover: UK assistance to Burma in relation to reviewing and drafting laws has been principally to Burma's Parliament and civil society, rather than direct to the Burmese Government. Last year the UK hosted a visit by the Bills Committee to Parliament, and the UK has arranged visits of advisers to Burma who have discussed with MPs the foreign investment law and the central bank law. The UK, through the British Council, is assisting the parliamentary committee in Burma in drafting the new higher education law. Also through the British Council we have supported a civil society consultation process on forest and land laws.

Businesses: Invoice Payments

Lord Harrison: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect to publish (1) their response, and (2) the individual responses, to the public consultation implementing Directive 2011/7/EU on combating Late Payment in Commercial Transactions.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: Her Majesty's Government will shortly publish a joint response document with the Government of Scotland that will also summarise the responses to the consultation. A copy will be placed in the Library.

Businesses: Invoice Payments

Lord Harrison: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the amount of money owed to businesses as a result of late payment of invoices.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: Research on the amount of money owed to small and medium-sized businesses is regularly commissioned by BACS. Following a survey in summer 2012, it estimated UK small and medium-sized businesses were owed almost £36.4 billion in late payments.

Businesses: Invoice Payments

Lord Harrison: To ask Her Majesty's Government what analysis they have made of the likely impact on the United Kingdom's gross domestic product of enforcing (1) early payment schemes and (2) prompt payment schemes on commercial transactions.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: The Government have no plans to enforce early payment schemes or prompt payment schemes on commercial transactions and have not, therefore, assessed the potential impact of such schemes. While the Government do not believe that it is appropriate to impose specific payment terms on commercial contracts outside their own supply chain, they are working with business-representative organisations and corporations to drive a culture of prompt payment.

Businesses: Invoice Payments

Lord Harrison: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions have taken place between the Cabinet Office and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills regarding enforcement of the prompt payment code.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: The prompt payment code is administered independently by the Institute of Credit Management. Officials at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and at the Cabinet Office have regular discussions on increasing prompt payment in both government and private sector supply chains, including though promotion of the prompt payment code.

Cats

Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to raise and promote public awareness about responsible cat ownership.

Lord De Mauley: Defra is working with the Pet Advertising Advisory Group (PAAG-a group of animal welfare organisations and animal-keeping representatives) to see how we can better inform all prospective animal owners about their responsibilities before they acquire the animals. In particular, we are looking at placing helpful and difficult-to-ignore advice on websites that advertise pet animals.

Charities

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Attlee on 5 December (WA 157-8) concerning government support for British-based and foreign charities, whether they will now arrange for such information to be collected centrally and published in detail in the Official Report and other relevant publications.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: There are no plans at this time to record such data in the way suggested.

Children: Childcare

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the relative merits of childcare being delivered by parents as opposed to others; and whether they will introduce measures to enable one parent to provide full-time childcare until their children reach the age of three.

Lord Nash: The Government recognise that children spend a significant amount of time with their parents, who are rightly their most important carers. However, many young children spend time with other childcare providers, enabling their parents to work. The Effective Provision of Pre-school Education (EPPE) study found that pre-school attendance improved the all round development of children when they entered primary school compared to "home" children with no pre-school experience and the benefit to children from disadvantaged homes is the greatest. High quality provision has a positive and lasting impact on child outcomes, which is why the Government are providing significant investment in high quality early years. On 29 January, the Government published More Great Childcare (available at: https://www.education.qov.uk/publications/standard/ publicationDetail/Pagel/DFE-00002-2013 which set out proposals to further reform and improve current formal childcare arrangements. Copies of the report have been placed in the Libraries.
	We have no plans to introduce specific measures to enable one parent to provide full-time childcare until their children reach the age of three. The UK already has one of the most generous systems of leave for parents in the EU. However, we are proposing to increase flexibility, choice and control for working parents through a new system of shared parental leave, alongside extending to all the right to request flexible working. These measures will help families balance childcare with employment.

Civil Service: Redundancy

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 24 January (WA 242), why they will not extrapolate and collate the numbers of civil servants made redundant throughout the Civil Service annually from each individual department's resource accounts.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: I refer the noble Lord to my Answer of 24 September 2012 (Official Report, col. WA 336). This matter has been delegated to individual departments. But I remind the noble Lord that as a result of the size of the deficit this Government inherited the country was spending 120 million GBP a day in interest payments alone at the time of the general election. As such, the Civil Service has had to play its part in tackling the largest budget deficit in the developed world. The sheer scale of the economic challenge has meant it has had to become smaller, faster, more flexible and better able to deliver our ambitious programme to reform the public services on which we all rely.

Courts: Closures

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what criteria will be applied by HM Courts and Tribunal Service in determining whether and which magistrates' court buildings will be closed following the forthcoming review.

Lord McNally: It is important that the provision of court and tribunal services in England and Wales includes an estate that is efficient, well utilised and offers value for money. Any future proposal by the Government to close magistrates' courts would be subject to full public consultation and the consultation would include the criteria on which the proposals had been put forward.

Crime: Joint Enterprise

Lord Ouseley: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to reform the law that provides for joint-enterprise prosecutions to be made.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many individuals were convicted between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2012 under joint-enterprise charges; and how many such cases were brought during that period.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many appeals are currently pending for convictions of individuals prosecuted under the joint-enterprise provisions.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have advised police authorities to use joint-enterprise provisions in cases where individuals have died in police custody.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have advised police authorities to apply joint-enterprise provisions at public events, such as football stadiums, where offences are being committed.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have received about miscarriages of justice in cases brought under joint-enterprise provisions; and whether they have any plans to hold a public inquiry into the use of such provisions.

Lord McNally: We are aware of criticisms by families of convicted offenders and campaign groups that the law on joint enterprise criminalises innocent bystanders or those who have had minimal involvement in the commission of an offence. We do not accept those criticisms, however, and have no plans to amend, or to hold an inquiry into, a law that plays an important role in bringing those involved in the commission of offences to justice.
	The decision whether to arrest and prosecute a suspect under joint-enterprise law is purely a matter for the police and the Crown Prosecution Service, depending on the particular circumstances of the case. We have not advised them to apply the law in relation to football violence, deaths in custody or any other specific scenario. However, the Crown Prosecution Service recently published general guidance for prosecutors on handling joint-enterprise cases. The guidance can be viewed online at the following address: http://www.cps. gov.uk/legal/assets/uploads/files/JointEnterprise.pdf.
	Although we hold data on the total number of prosecutions and convictions for offences in England and Wales, we do not currently hold information on whether those offences were committed as part of a joint enterprise; or whether any of the offenders convicted for their part in a joint enterprise subsequently appealed.

Defamation Bill

Lord Rana: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact across the whole United Kingdom of the non-application of the Defamation Bill to Northern Ireland; what steps they will take to ensure that the Bill, when enacted, is applied consistently to publications which circulate throughout the United Kingdom; and whether they have held discussions with the Northern Ireland Executive about the introduction of corresponding legislation there.

Lord Newby: The law of defamation is a devolved matter. During development of the Defamation Bill, we consulted the Northern Ireland Executive about whether they wished to seek a legislative consent Motion for the extension of any provisions in the Bill to Northern Ireland. In the event, no such extension was sought. When the Bill is enacted, the existing provisions for determining jurisdiction for civil actions between different parts of the United Kingdom will apply.

Diplomatic Service

Lord Moonie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what lessons have been learnt as a result of the attack on the United Kingdom Ambassador in Benghazi, in particular in relation to the security of diplomatic personnel leaving diplomatic premises.

Baroness Warsi: We study carefully all significant attacks on our offices and staff to try and ensure that we learn all the necessary lessons for our security regime. We do not disclose the details of our security measures, but we have paid particularly close attention to the incidents mentioned and the challenging security environment in Benghazi.
	Following the attack on our Ambassador in June 2012, we suspended operations at our Benghazi office. Sadly, there have been a number of subsequent attacks, including that on the US Special Mission Compound in September 2012 in which the US Ambassador and three of his colleagues were killed.

Disabled People: Personal Independence Payment

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of Motability customers with adapted cars or wheelchair-accessible vehicles who could lose their entitlement under the Personal Independence Payment.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure a speedy reconsideration or appeal process for Motability customers who lose adapted cars or wheelchair-accessible vehicles following their Personal Independence Payment assessment.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what temporary provision they have asked Motability to make for those scheme users who lose their entitlement under the Personal Independence Payment but are likely to regain entitlement at appeal, especially for those who use adapted or converted vehicles.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what financial support they will offer to Motability to help those with adapted cars or wheelchair-accessible vehicles who lose their entitlement under the Personal Independence Payment.

Lord Freud: As an independent charity, Motability is wholly responsible for the administration of the Motability scheme, including setting policy on the recovery of vehicles. We are continuing to work closely with Motability to understand what impact the introduction of PIP might have on its customer numbers and to ensure the smooth introduction of PIP as it relates to users of the Motability scheme. The Government have no plans to fast track appeals for Motability customers or provide financial support to the Motability scheme to help those people who lose their vehicle through personal independence payment reassessment.

Drones

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Taylor of Holbeach on 6 February (WA 62) concerning the use of unmanned aerial vehicles by police forces to carry out surveillance, whether the consent of Parliament is necessary for this type of surveillance; and whether it is intended to carry out public consultation on the policy.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: Police use of unmanned aerial vehicles would need to comply with existing Civil Aviation Authority regulations. Covert use likely to obtain private information would be subject to authorisation under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. That Act requires that covert investigatory techniques are used only if they are necessary and proportionate for purposes such as preventing or detecting crime or in the interests of national security. It makes deployment subject to independent overview, inspection and right to redress in case of individual complaint. Any overt use of a surveillance camera system by the police will be subject to a new CCTV code of practice on which the Home Office is currently consulting under the Protection of Freedoms Act.

Drones

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for a robust legal framework to ensure that there is accountability and reparation when things have gone wrong as a result of drone attacks, as suggested by the United Nations Special Rapporteur.

Baroness Warsi: The Government's position is that the use of unmanned aerial vehicles against terrorist targets is a matter for the states involved. We expect all states concerned to act in accordance with international law and take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian casualties when conducting military operations.

Drones

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that when drone attacks take place information is recorded on (1) the extent of civilian casualties, (2) the identity of those targeted, and (3) the legality of strikes in cases where the United Nations does not recognise that there is a conflict.

Baroness Warsi: The Government's position is that the use of unmanned aerial vehicles against terrorist targets is a matter for the states involved. We expect all states concerned to act in accordance with international law and take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian casualties when conducting military operations.

Drugs: Orphan Medicines

Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's High Specialised Technologies programme will consider the affordability of ultra-orphan medicines.

Earl Howe: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is currently engaging with stakeholders on the process it will use in the evaluation of such technologies and will formally consult on the process and methods in due course. We understand that NICE will publish an interim process to allow an early start on the evaluation of eculizumab for atypical haemolytic uraemic syndrome after April 2013.

Dunfermline Building Society

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Newby on 29 January (WA 299-300) why, in accordance with the Dunfermline Building Society Compensation Scheme, Resolution Fund and Third Party Compensation Order 2009, they have decided to activate the mechanism in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Contribution to Costs of Special Resolution Regime) Regulations 2010 and require the independent valuer to reconsider his determination of a cap of £2.365 billion on the recoverable amount payable by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme; and whether they will extrapolate the current relevant outstanding amounts rather than provide a web link to HM Treasury's 2011-12 annual report.

Lord Deighton: The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Contribution to Costs of Special Resolution Regime) Regulations 2010, provide a mechanism under which an independent valuer, appointed to determine the amount that the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) would have recovered had an institution gone into insolvency without stabilisation powers being exercised, may be required to reconsider their determination.
	In the case of Dunfermline Building Society (DBS), the independent valuer, Mr Ian Burns of Smith and Williamson, produced his report on 31 July 20121.
	Both the FSCS and HM Treasury subsequently requested that Mr Burns reconsider his determination. HM Treasury did so in order to ensure value for money for the taxpayer. The decision by the FSCS to challenge the determination is a matter for the FSCS. The cap on the FSCS contribution will not be known until after Mr Burns produces his revised assessment notice, which is expected later this year.
	As outlined in Section 34 of the Treasury's accounts for 2011-2012, the administrator for Dunfermline has paid out dividends to HM Treasury totalling £633 million. Further dividends are expected over the period of the administration, as determined by the administrators. As at 31 March 2012, HM Treasury's claim in the administration stood at £0.9 billion. Current relevant outstanding amounts for HM Treasury's claim in the DBS administration will be published in the Treasury's audited accounts for 2012-13 on HM Treasury website in summer 2013.
	1 http://www.fscs.org.uk/uploaded files/final report.pdf

Education: AS-Levels

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have plans to end the AS level qualification.

Lord Nash: The AS-level is a valuable qualification, and a useful means to secure breadth within an A-level programme. It will therefore be retained as part of our A-level reforms, but be redesigned as a high-quality, stand-alone qualification. The AS-level will be as intellectually demanding as an A-level, and cover half of the content.

Education: English and Maths

Lord Quirk: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Statement by Lord Nash on 7 February (Official Report, col. 412), what provision they will make for pupils between the ages of 16 and 18 who have not reached the attainment threshold in English and maths.

Lord Nash: From September 2013, students who do not hold GCSE A*-C in English and mathematics will be required to continue to study towards achieving these qualifications. From September 2015, GCSEs will be comprehensively reformed. The reformed GCSEs in English and mathematics will replace existing GCSEs as part of the English and maths requirement for students between the ages of 16 and 18 once they are introduced.

Education: English and Maths

Lord Quirk: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to enhance the provision of English and maths teaching in schools and further education colleges to meet the needs of 16-18 year-olds who are deemed to be "not secure" in those subjects.

Lord Nash: From September 2013, students who do not hold GCSE A*-C in English and mathematics will be required to continue to study towards achieving these qualifications.

Education: GCSEs

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty's Government, for each year between 2007 and 2012, what proportion of secondary schools offered (1) French, (2) Spanish, (3) German, (4) Portuguese, (5) Polish, (6) Italian, (7) Chinese, and (8) Arabic, at GCSE level; and, of those schools, which offered (a) two or more, (b) three or more, (c) four or more, (d) five or more, and (e) six or more of those languages at GCSE level.

Lord Nash: The department does not collect information on the subjects offered at GCSE level by schools. We do, however, publish information on GCSE examinations taken in schools which includes entries for individual subjects.
	This information for 2012 is available on our website here: http://www.education.gov.uk/schooIs/performance/ downloaddata.html. Click the link "KS4 qualification and subject data", relevant information is available in the tabs GCSE-Certificates-1 and GCSE Certificates 2. Similar information for 2011 is available on our website here: http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/performance/ 2011/download data.html. Click the link "Full GCSE", relevant information is available on the GCSE_Entries tab. Similar information for 2010 is available on our website here: http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000985/index.html. Click the link "Zip Archive", relevant information is available on the GCSE_Entries tab. Similar information for 2007-09 has been placed in the House Libraries.

Education: Leavers

Baroness Brinton: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people left (1) school, (2) sixth form college, and (3) further education college, at the end of Year 12 in each of the past five years.

Lord Nash: The information requested is shown in the table below. The table shows the number of 161 year-olds in full-time education in maintained schools, sixth form colleges and FE colleges and of these, the numbers and proportion no longer recorded as being in education and training the following year2 aged 17.
	
		
			 Young people in Full Time Education at 16 not in Education or Training at 17 by Institution Type at 16 
			   Academic year in which young person was age 17 
			   2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 Maintained Schools Pupils aged 16 in full time education 195,600 207,100 213,400 220,000 224,500 
			  Of whom number not in education or training at age 17 15,000 16,500 16,700 11,200 11,500 
			  Percentage not in education or training at age 17 8% 8% 8% 5% 5% 
			 Sixth Form College Pupils aged 16 in full time education 69,600 70,200 72,300 73,900 75,300 
			  Of whom number not in education or training at age 17 5,200 4,800 4,400 2,900 3,300 
			  Percentage not in education or training at age 17 7% 7% 6% 4% 4% 
			 FE College Pupils aged 16 in full time education 185,000 198,100 207,700 212,300 210,200 
			  Of whom number not in education or training at age 17 31,400 31,500 30,500 22,700 24,800 
			  Percentage not in education or training at age 17 17% 16% 15% 11% 12% 
		
	
	1 Based on academic age-the age of the young person at the beginning of the academic year, 31 August.
	2 Education and training here include full-time or part-time study in education or an apprenticeship.
	Note: The percentages have been calculated on unrounded figures. The table presents figures that have been rounded to the nearest hundred.

Egypt

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they expect European Union grants and loans to be available to Egypt for new work in public health and education, including adult literacy; and over what timescale.

Baroness Northover: The European Union (EU) funds budget support operations in the health and education sectors in Egypt. In the education sector, EU funds will support reforms to pre-university education until May 2013 and to technical and vocational education for the next five years. There is no specific focus on adult literacy. In the health sector, the EU funds the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population to increase the reach of primary healthcare until 2015. The health and education sectors are not part of the EU's programming priorities for the next programming period (2014-2015).
	Egypt also benefits from the Erasmus and Tempus schemes, which fund Egyptian students to study in Europe and help build the capacity of Egyptian higher education institutions.
	The EU aims to provide macrofinancial support in the form of loans once an IMF package has been agreed with Egypt.

Egypt and Tunisia

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether funds from the British-Arab Initiative, or other sources, will be made available for developing and extending internal democratic dialogue in Egypt and Tunisia.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The UK's Arab Partnership was established to support those in the region that are putting in place the building blocks of more open, free societies, underpinned by vibrant economies.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office-led £40 million Partnership Fund focuses on three key areas, all of which contribute to democratic dialogue: political participation; good governance (including better access to justice and support for civil society initiatives to strengthen the rule of law and transparency); and public voice. Across the programme we are working to ensure an inclusive approach, in particular strengthening the participation of women, youth, and the protection of human rights.
	In Egypt, we spent £1.3 million in the financial year (FY) 2011-12 and have committed £1.7 million to projects in FY 2012-13. This includes projects to strengthen political processes and the role of parliament, such as elections-witnessing, and induction training for members of the Egyptian parliament.
	In Tunisia, we spent £1 million in FY 2011-12 and have committed £2.8 million in FY 2012-13. This includes projects to strengthen the constituent assembly and the future parliament and parties' ability to engage with citizens: and support emerging Tunisian civil society.
	Across the Middle East and North Africa Region, including both Tunisia and Egypt, we have funded further projects to promote internal democratic dialogue, including the BBC Media Action programme of working with partner television stations in six countries (Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Jordan and Iraq) to produce "Question Time" style debate programmes for Arabic-speaking audiences. We also fund a multicountry debate programme-Young Arab Voices-led by the British Council in partnership with the Anna Lindh Foundation to provide young people in the target countries with opportunities and skills for debate.

Elections: Police and Crime Commissioners

Lord Rennard: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will review the electoral timetables for local authority and police and crime commissioner elections to enable future police and crime commissioner elections to involve a booklet of election addresses such as those produced for mayoral elections.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The Government have no plans to review the electoral timetables for local authority and police and crime commissioner elections. In the last election every household received information about the November elections for police and crime commissioners from the Electoral Commission. Information about every candidate was also published online and could be ordered in paper form from a free automated telephone service.

Elections: Police and Crime Commissioners

Lord Rennard: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the cost of the police and crime commissioner elections held in November 2012; and what is their forecast of the running costs of the commissioners, deputy commissioners and their offices over the next four years.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: Until all claims for election expenses are received from returning officers we cannot give a definitive figure, but we estimate that the police and crime commissioner (PCC) elections cost £75 million.
	We do not expect the running costs and day-to-day expenditure of PCCs to be any greater than that of existing police authorities, which was less than 1% of the total cost of policing. However, it will be for PCCs to decide on the support needed in their offices, and to publish those costs and justify them to the public.

Elections: Police and Crime Commissioners

Lord Rennard: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they will evaluate the new structures involving police and crime commissioners prior to the next elections for those positions.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: There are no plans to evaluate the structures in the near future. The Electoral Commission has a statutory duty to report on the administration of all elections and it is expected that the report will be presented to Parliament in February.

Employment Law

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they will take to ensure that private healthcare employers are required to pay employees wages and redundancy payments.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what proposals they have to change employment law to prevent employers from delaying payments owed to their workforce and to compensate employees for money owed.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what proposals they have to change employment law to ensure that where employers refuse to pay wages to avoid bankruptcy, workers receive what is owed within a short period of time rather than face the delay of a lengthy legal process.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: The Government currently do not have any proposals to change employment law relating to these matters as existing legislation already provides safeguards and routes for redress for employees.
	Employment rights legislation already makes provision for employees to be paid a whole range of entitlements, including wages, and provides them with a method for obtaining payment if their employer does not comply, by applying to an employment tribunal, which can order their employer to pay the amounts due. Private healthcare employers are subject to the same duties and obligations of legislation as any other employer.
	In the period April 2011 to March 2012, there were 83,300 unauthorised deductions and breach of contract claims, demonstrating that many employees already make use of employment tribunal to recover unpaid wages. Of these, 68,400 claims disposed of in the same period, 29% were resolved by means of an ACAS conciliated settlement, showing that such disputes can also be successfully resolved by parties without needing to go through the time and cost of a full employment tribunal hearing.
	Further protection is provided for employees whose employer is formally insolvent and unable to pay. Eligible employees who find themselves in this situation and whose employment has been terminated are able to claim a guaranteed statutory minimum amount from the National Insurance Fund. Employees who are owed statutory amounts by an employer which is not formally insolvent are able to petition to have the business wound up or their employer declared bankrupt and if this is done, they can make a claim for payment from the National Insurance Fund. They should seek independent legal advice on the costs of doing so against the payments they may receive, before taking any such action. Citizens advice bureaux provide a free advisory service.

Employment Law

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what proposals they have to change employment law so that in the event of a business closing, the workforce have the legal right to review the financial accounts and business interests of the employer.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: This matter is not related to employment law, and we have no intention to bring proposals forward. There is no automatic statutory right to inspect books/papers/formal accounts. Such a right would not be appropriate as in many cases it is unlikely that this information exists. Where it does exist there are already measures available to allow employees as creditors to obtain this information.
	In a winding up by the court, creditors may apply to the court for an order to inspect any books and papers in the company's possession. In both the normal operation of business and in the case of a voluntary liquidation, the company directors are required to lay a statement of the company's affairs before the creditors. In administration, the directors are generally required to submit a statement of affairs to the administrator who is required to disclose it to the creditors. There are other provisions for an individual to see company records where that company is not trading.

Employment: Women

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures they are taking to ensure fair pay, flexible working conditions and greater provision of childcare for working women.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston: We have launched a voluntary initiative, Think, Act, Report, to promote transparency on gender equality. Think, Act, Report asks private and voluntary sector employees to tackle barriers for women at work by taking a step by step approach to greater transparency on pay and other workplace issues. On 14 November 2012, the Government published a progress report, which showed that over a million employees are working in organisations signed-up to this initiative.
	The Government are extending the right to request flexible working to all employees from 2014, which will allow qualifying parents to decide how best to share their caring responsibilities.
	The Prime Minister has established a commission on childcare to look at how to reduce the costs of childcare for working families and burdens on childcare providers, which will report shortly. In addition, the Government recently announced new measures to encourage new childcare provision, including £2 million over the next financial year to help up to 6,000 new childcare businesses with start-up costs.
	We have already increased the entitlement to free education and care for 3 and 4 year-olds to 15 hours a week and extended this entitlement to 260,000 of the most disadvantaged 2 year-olds.

Employment: Work Capability Assessment

The Countess of Mar: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord McNally on 4 February (WA 6), what feedback has been received during the first six months of the new arrangements; whether a report of the feedback has been published, and if so where; and what is proposed for the future distribution of written determinations by the First-tier Tribunal Social Security and Child Support.

Lord McNally: An ad hoc statistical analysis of the feedback provided through the new arrangements was published by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in November 2012 and can be found on the DWP website using the following link: http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/adhoc_analysis/2012/sscs_appeals.pdf.
	The analysis identified that feedback was provided in 64% of those appeals where DWP's decision was overturned by the tribunal. Of these appeals, 41% cited the main reason for an overturned decision as cogent oral evidence provided by the appellant at the hearing.
	HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is working closely with DWP to further analyse the data and identify ongoing actions to improve the decision-making and appeals process. The First-tier Tribunal, Social Security and Child Support, will continue to issue written decisions to the appellant, the appellant's representative, if represented, and the first-tier agency which made the original decision, either on the day of the hearing or shortly afterwards.

Energy: Biomass Fuel

Lord Jenkin of Roding: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord De Mauley on 1 February (WA 361-2), who is responsible for conducting the phytosanitary checks that are made on imports of controlled wood used as biofuel; and who conducts the physical inspection to ensure that the material is free from pests and diseases.

Lord De Mauley: Within the European Community, the responsibility for the phytosanitary checks on the imports of controlled wood used as biofuel rests with the individual member state where the material is landed. Responsibility for control of intra-community movement rests with the registered traders in the relevant member states. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is responsible for co-ordination of plant health policy for the UK. In Great Britain, the Forestry Commission is responsible for implementing the plant health controls relating to import and movement of controlled wood used as biofuel. In Northern Ireland, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Forest Service undertakes the same responsibility. Where physical inspection is required in Great Britain this is carried out by inspectors authorised by the Forestry Commission under the Plant Health (Forestry) Order 2005.

Energy: Smart Meters

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Verma on 5 February (WA 34) concerning smart meters, whether those meters will be installed in homes on a voluntary basis; and what information, from which organisations, will be given to householders about the implications for their privacy and control of their usage of energy in their homes.

Baroness Verma: The Government's vision is for every home in Great Britain to have smart electricity and gas meters and for smaller business and public sector premises to have smart or advanced metering suited to their needs. Smart meters will be rolled out as standard, but there will not be a legal obligation on individuals to have one.
	The Government's consumer engagement strategy describes the approach to raising levels of awareness about smart metering and providing reassurance to consumers about potential areas of concern. From June 2013, energy suppliers' engagement with consumers will be supported by a programme of centralised engagement undertaken by a central delivery body.
	In addition, the Government are looking to suppliers to develop a privacy charter to provide clear reassurance to consumers about the ways in which their personal data will be used, and the choices they have about this.

EU: Aid

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that decision-makers at all levels in the Middle East and North Africa are aware of the loans and technical assistance available through the European Union.

Baroness Warsi: A key part of the EU's response to the Arab Spring has been in trying to build deeper political relationships with the countries of the southern neighbourhood to improve understanding of the assistance on offer from the EU. One of the primary vehicles for achieving this is through high-level "Task Forces" led by the EU High Commissioner for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Baroness Ashton on behalf of the EU and typically at prime ministerial/ministerial level in the host country.
	The UK continues to work closely with the European External Action Service and specifically with EU Special Representative Bernardino Leon to encourage clearer communication of the EU's offer to the region. Three task forces have taken place since the Arab Spring in Tunisia, Jordan and Egypt. The UK from London, our posts in the region and in Brussels has worked hard to influence the substance and delivery of messages at these meetings, and stress the importance of the EU demonstrating its added value through its breadth of support and technical assistance. We take all bilateral opportunities available to reinforce this message.
	Working jointly with France, in January the UK instigated a joint ministerial letter to Baroness Ashton in order to drive greater progress and better communication of the EU's offer on trade and Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreements.

EU: Aid

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government in what ways they expect that European Union funds will assist reforms in the administration of justice to the benefit of defendants and litigants in the Middle East and North Africa.

Baroness Northover: European Union support to the Middle East and north Africa is provided under the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument. Support is conditional on progress by beneficiary countries towards political reform, upholding human rights and building deep and sustainable democracy and is measured against criteria including the rule of law administered by an independent judiciary.
	Alongside this the EU Strategy for Security and Development in the Sahel sets out how the EU intends to encourage easier access to a strengthened justice system for the local population of a number of countries in and around the Sahel including Mauritania, Libya, Algeria and Morocco.

EU: Higher Education

Baroness Coussins: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the funding for the Erasmus for All programme for 2014-2020, outlined in their May 2012 response to the 27th Report of the European Union Committee of 2010-12 The Modernisation of Higher Education in Europe (HL Paper 275), has been affected by the recent agreement on the overall European Union budget reduction for that period; and, if so, how.

Baroness Garden of Frognal: Agreement was reached on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) on 8 February at the European Council meeting. Although 2014-2020 budget ceilings were reduced in the Council agreement compared to 2007-13 ceilings, Heading 1A, which includes Erasmus for All, increased by over 30%.
	Council conclusions do not fix allocations for most individual programmes and it will take some time to secure agreement to the specific budget for the Erasmus for All programme. However, they do state that the funding for Erasmus for all will "represent real growth compared to 2013 level."
	The agreement on the MFF reached by Council now needs consent from the European Parliament, as will the agreement on the Erasmus for All budgetary allocation.

EU: Proposed Financial Transaction Tax

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they will take to ensure that the European Commission's proposals to introduce a financial transaction levy do not apply to transactions made in the United Kingdom or to transactions to which United Kingdom entities are a party; and what powers they have to ensure that the levy cannot be applied to such transactions.

Lord Deighton: The European Commission's proposal, published on 14 February, for a Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) under enhanced co-operation risks doing real harm to EU competitiveness at a time of fragile economic recovery across the continent, which is why the UK was right not to participate in such a measure. The Government are examining the proposal carefully in order to assess its impact on non-participating EU member states and the single market.
	The Government will continue to fully and proactively engage in discussions with other member states and the European Commission on the final design of the enhanced co-operation FTT.

EU: Single Market

Lord Harrison: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recommendation in the latest British Chambers of Commerce Trade Confidence Index report that the Government should take the lead in the creation of a genuine single market for all services across the European Union.

Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint: The Government are strongly committed to further implementation of the single market and in particular the single market for services in the EU. While services account for over 70% of the UK economy, there are still many regulatory barriers preventing UK consumers and services providers from fully benefiting from it. The Government have and continue to lobby the EU institutions and other member states to ensure improvements in single market governance and full implementation and effective enforcement of the EU services directive.

EU: UK Membership

Lord Hunt of Chesterton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to consult the European Parliament during the renegotiation of the United Kingdom's relationship with the European Union.

Baroness Warsi: The Government are committed to positive reform of the EU and is in regular contact with a wide variety of partners to advance that agenda.

Finance: Contactless Payments

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the robustness of the security surrounding contactless payments.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to ensure British companies are at the forefront of technology developments in the contactless and mobile payments industry.

Lord Deighton: The security of contactless payment technology is a matter for the payments industry and for the retailers that accept contactless payments. These industries have every incentive to promote their security and acceptance by the paying public.
	The Treasury welcomes the UK Cards Association's Near-Field Communication (NFC) Steering Board initiative to improve payment infrastructure. Identifying and removing the barriers to the widespread deployment of an NFC acceptance infrastructure throughout the UK can widen consumer choice on payments and provide a stimulus to the high street. The success of this initiative is dependent on the market participants and their representative bodies working together and delivering an open, innovative NFC acceptance infrastructure.

Finance: Investment Schemes

Lord Harrison: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether venture capital trusts are to be included in the category of restricted products currently being consulted on by the Financial Services Authority in consultation document CP12/19.

Lord Deighton: Consultation CP 12/19, "Restrictions on the retail distribution of unregulated collective investment schemes and close substitutes", was developed and published entirely by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in its role as independent regulator. The Government cannot provide specific guidance on the application of the proposed changes to FSA rules included in the consultation. The FSA will provide a written response on this matter in due course.

Food: Labelling

Lord Rennard: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are on target to meet their Spring 2013 target of a fully developed front-of-pack nutrition labelling scheme based on (1) guideline daily amounts, and (2) colour- coding.

Earl Howe: Officials in the department and the devolved Administrations have had constructive discussions over the detail of a future front-of-pack nutritional labelling scheme with business, charities and other partners. We hope to complete this work in the next few months.

Food: Production and Consumption

Lord McColl of Dulwich: To ask Her Majesty's Government what method they use to calculate (1) the level of domestic self-sufficiency in food production, and (2) domestic food consumption; and what was the level of each in each of the past 25 years.

Lord De Mauley: I refer my noble friend to the answer I gave on the 10 October 2012 (Official Report, cols. WA421 and WA422).
	Provisional figures for 2012 will be available this summer.

Food: Security and Nutrition

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will encourage G8 leaders to provide support for the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement and the costed country plans developed by that organisation at the G8 summit in June.

Baroness Northover: The UK Government will be hosting a hunger event in the run up to the G8 Summit in June. This event aims to secure increased commitments to tackle hunger and undernutrition by a wide range of stakeholders including governments of countries with high levels of hunger and undernutrition, bilateral donors, philanthropic foundations, private sector companies, United Nations agencies and civil society organisations. The UK Government will work closely with the Scaling Up Nutrition movement in the preparation and delivery of this event and in follow up on the commitments made.

Food: Security and Nutrition

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that investments in the costed plans developed as part of the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement are adequate.

Baroness Northover: The UK Government are providing technical and financial assistance to the secretariat of the Scaling Up Nutrition movement to support the development of costed national plans to tackle undernutrition. The UK is also working very closely with governments in Zambia, Nigeria and Ethiopia to help co-ordinate international donors and align their investments behind the governments' plans, and where possible address critical funding gaps.

Food: Security and Nutrition

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to build on the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition programme at this year's G8 summit.

Baroness Northover: The UK Government are committed to driving forward progress on the New Alliance in 2013 in order to maintain momentum towards its goal of lifting 50 million out of poverty through agriculture sector growth. As one of the co-chairs of the Leadership Council for the New Alliance, the Secretary of State for International Development will work closely with the Africa Union Commission, African Governments, other G8 members and the private sector to ensure the New Alliance adds value to existing efforts to mobilise responsible private sector investment in agriculture. UK priorities for the New Alliance in 2013 include expanding the number of partner countries and establishing a system to track progress and results.

Food: Security and Nutrition

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to address any potential negative impacts of the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition programme, and in particular competition between large-scale private investments and smallholder farms.

Baroness Northover: The UK Government believe that promoting growth of small and large-scale commercial agriculture is key to food security and economic growth in Africa. The goal of the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition is to lift 50 million people out of poverty over 10 years. It aims to raise the incomes of men and women smallholder farmers and the rural poor and generate positive nutrition impacts by accelerating inclusive agricultural sector growth and development.
	The UK Government are committed to ensuring commercial investments in agriculture are socially, economically and environmentally responsible. New Alliance country partnership agreements (co-operation frameworks), agreed mutually between African governments, local and international private companies and G8 members, commit all participants to take forward the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests. In 2013, the UK Government will work closely with other members of the New Alliance to develop effective mechanisms to track progress and ensure private sector investments in agriculture deliver positive outcomes for the rural poor.

Gambia

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking following the decision by the President of The Gambia to withdraw from participation in talks with the European Union under Article 8 of the Cotonou agreement.

Baroness Warsi: Following the withdrawal of The Gambia on 11 January from the Article 8 political dialogue with the EU, our High Commissioner in Banjul has met the Gambian Foreign Minister and has urged the Gambian government to re-engage with the EU.
	We are also working within the EU to encourage The Gambia to return to dialogue. On 11 January, a spokesman for the EU High Commissioner for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Baroness Ashton, issued a statement saying that the EU remained committed to dialogue with The Gambia. With other EU member states, we are also exploring other options available to the EU under the Cotonou agreement.

Gaza

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have received information about the restoration of the water supply to Al-Bureij Camp in the Gaza Strip; and, if not, whether they will make representations to the Government of Israel about the supply of water filters for the damaged desalinator.

Baroness Northover: We have received confirmation from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency that the water supply to Al-Bureij Camp in the Gaza Strip has been restored by the Coastal Municipal Water Utility.

Genetically Modified Organisms

The Countess of Mar: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of the transboundary notification and accompanying documents as specified in Annex 1 of Regulation (EC) 1946/2003, for the shipment of genetically modified mosquito eggs by the United Kingdom company Oxitec to Panama, approved in Panama on 15 January.

Lord De Mauley: The authorisation given by Panama in January is for the import of GM mosquito eggs for contained use purposes, not deliberate release into the environment. As such the shipment of the eggs does not require notification under Regulation (EC) 1946/2003.

Georgia

The Lord Bishop of Wakefield: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of human rights in Georgia.

Baroness Warsi: We assess the human rights situation in Georgia to be moving in a broadly positive direction. The October 2012 elections were judged to be largely free and fair by international observers. Georgia's ranking in both the 2013 Freedom House and Reporters Without Borders reports has improved and the Government have prioritised action to address problems of prison overcrowding, alleged prisoner abuse, and lack of judicial independence. We also welcome the Georgian Prime Minister's recent appointment of a special adviser on human rights.
	However, it is important that Georgia continues to focus on issues such as minority and gender rights. We have made clear that it is important for the Georgian Government to ensure that all prosecutions are based on evidence and respect the rule of law. Where we have concerns, we raise these bilaterally and multilaterally, including through the EU, Council of Europe (CoE) and Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe. We welcomed the visit Thomas Hammerberg (former CoE Human Rights Commissioner) made to Georgia in January 2013 on behalf of the EU to assess the human rights situation.

Georgia

The Lord Bishop of Wakefield: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Government of Georgia about its position on the rights of religious minorities.

Baroness Warsi: The UK raises human rights issues on a regular basis with the Georgian Government at all levels both bilaterally and through multilateral institutions such as the EU, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the Council of Europe.
	While the UK has not yet had specific discussions with the new Government on the rights of religious minorities, we continue to follow this issue closely including through our Embassy's work in Tbilisi and its regional travel. Georgia has a developing relationship with the EU through the Eastern Partnership. Respect for minority rights is included in the Association Agreement that Georgia is currently negotiating with the EU.

Georgia

The Lord Bishop of Wakefield: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration have they given to supporting the work of the Office of Public Defender in Georgia.

Baroness Warsi: We believe that the Public Defender plays an important and independent role in championing human rights in Georgia. The UK supports the work of the Public Defender through the EU's €1.2 million project "Support to Public Defender's Office". Our Embassy officials regularly meet the Public Defender and his staff to discuss human rights issues, most recently on 5 February.

Government Departments: Arm's-length Bodies

Lord Willis of Knaresborough: To ask Her Majesty's Government which non-departmental public bodies and arm's-length bodies are directly responsible to the Department of Health; and what was the total cost of (1) the finance, (2) media and communications, and (3) non-executive board member functions, in those bodies in each of the past three years.

Earl Howe: The following is a list of the department's current arm's-length bodies (ALBs). This includes its executive agencies, executive non-departmental public bodies and special health authorities.
	
		
			 Executive agency 
			 Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency 
		
	
	
		
			 Executive non-departmental public bodies 
			 Care Quality Commission 
			 Health Protection Agency 
			 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority 
			 Human Tissue Authority 
			 Monitor 
			 NHS Commissioning Board 
		
	
	
		
			 Special health authorities 
			 Health and Social Care Information Centre 
			 Health Education England 
			 Health Research Authority 
			 National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence 
			 National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse 
			 NHS Blood and Transplant 
			 NHS Business Services Authority 
			 NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement 
			 NHS Litigation Authority 
			 NHS Trust Development Authority 
		
	
	As a function, finance is generally organised into central teams and also devolved into many wider roles to best suit the organisation. As a result, there is significant difficulty in producing a common definition of "finance" for this question. Producing an appropriate definition and collecting the information would result in disproportionate cost.
	The following table shows the total cost of paid-for communications (as defined by the Cabinet Office) in each of the past three financial years, as reported by each arm's-length body:
	
		
			  2009-10 2010-2011 2011-2012 
			 ALB Total cost of (2) media & communication Total cost of (2) media & communication Total cost of (2) media & communication 
			 NHS Commissioning Board Not in existence Not in existence £4,000 
			 Monitor £412,807 £82,971 £51,729 
			 Care Quality Commission Nil Nil Nil 
			 National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence £806,482 £297,874 £184,507 
			 Health and Social Care Information Centre £855,114 £202,478 £126,379 
			 Health Research Authority Not in existence Not in existence £10,252 
			 NHS Blood and Transplant £14,800,000 £7,400,000 £7,300,000 
			 Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency £1,323,764 £1,232,519 £1,458,240 
			 NHS Business Services Authority £73,390 £29,083 £8,805 
			 NHS Litigation Authority £10,408 £7,602 £4,468 
			 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority £78,080 Nil Nil 
			 Human Tissue Authority £11,932 £39,936 Nil 
			 Health Protection Agency £698,900 £199,000 £268,700 
			 National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse £56,094 £13,232 £ 2,219 
			 NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement £2,226,831 £452,397 £146,575 
		
	
	The department does not collect information on the cost of non-executive board members (their remuneration and expenses). While the remuneration of non-executive directors is set by the Secretary of State, the costs of board member functions are met by the individual ALBs. Arm's-length bodies are required to publish this information as part of their annual reports, which are available on their websites.

Government Departments: e-mail

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will standardise the format of Ministers' Government e-mail addresses, including the names of ministers in the House of Lords.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: Departmental e-mail addresses are a matter for individual departments. Details of e-mail addresses for ministerial private offices are set out in the List of Ministerial Responsibilities, which is available in the Libraries of the House and can also be accessed on the Cabinet Office website at: http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/sites/default/files/resources/List_Ministerial_Responsibilities-Nov-12.pdf.

Government Departments: Staff

Lord Moonie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the expenditure of the Department for International Development on permanent staff, temporary staff, consultants and air freight in each of the past three years.

Baroness Northover: Details of DfID expenditure on permanent staff, temporary staff, self-employed consultants and air freight for the financial years 2010-11 2011-12 and 2012-13 (to date) are shown in the table below.
	
		
			 Financial Year Permanent Staff Temporary Staff Consultants Air Freight 
			 2010-11 £93,437,541.38 £1,363,023.61 £494,290.40 £767,180.42 
			 2011-12 £97,862,799.94 £1,196,234.12 £175,089.96 £2,113,425.72 
			 2112-13 (April 2012 to December 2012 inclusive) £78,099,488.33 £621,259.12 £790,530.81 £1,716,187.33 
		
	
	The category "self-employed consultants" includes people contracted to support the delivery of development projects or activities.

Government Departments: Staff

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, in the light of the reduction in the size of the armed forces and reduction in military expenditure, they have plans to reduce the number of Ministers in the Ministry of Defence.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: Decisions on ministerial appointments are a matter for the Prime Minister, taking account of the requirements of the Ministerial and other Salaries Act 1975 and the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975.

Health and Social Care Act 2012

Baroness Quin: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their most recent estimate of the cost of the NHS reorganisation implemented under the terms of the Health and Social Care Act 2012.

Earl Howe: The Secretary of State issued a Written Ministerial Statement in October 2012 outlining the estimated cost of implementing the reforms set out in the Health and Social Care Act 2012. This statement predicted a total cost of £1.5-£1.6 billion in 2010-11 prices, equating to £1.6-£1.7 billion in cash terms. The department's most recent estimate of transition costs is consistent with this range. Annual savings arising from the reforms are expected to be £1.5 billion from 2014-15. Cumulative savings over this Parliament are forecast to be around £5.5 billion.

Health: Access to Medicines

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they plan to publish their response to the proposed Earlier Access to Medicines Scheme consultation; and what arrangements they are making to ensure early access to drugs in areas of serious unmet medical need for medicines that have successfully completed phase II trials and are currently in phase III trials.

Earl Howe: Discussions are continuing across Government following the consultation on "an early access to medicines scheme in the United Kingdom" and the Government expect to make an announcement as soon as these discussions have concluded. As outlined in the consultation, the Government have considered carefully the stage of development at which new medicines might be considered and proposed that the scheme could focus initially on widening access to particularly promising medicines, with a clear positive benefit/risk balance, between the end of phase III trials and licensing. This could avoid any potential difficulties of recruiting patients into clinical trials if these were still ongoing in the UK. The Government have not ruled out a review at an earlier stage (for example based on phase II data) in exceptional circumstances where the information available merits it. The scheme could therefore provide an early access opinion on a new medicine around a year before the regulatory process delivers a marketing authorisation.

Health: Cancer

Lord Walton of Detchant: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they propose that the Cancer Drugs Fund will operate when it becomes the responsibility of the NHS Commissioning Board; and what will happen in 2014 to treatments currently supported by that fund.

Earl Howe: From April 2013, the NHS Commissioning Board will take on oversight of the Cancer Drugs Fund. The detailed arrangements that will be put in place are a matter for the board as an independent body, but access to specific cancer drugs through the fund will continue to be based on the principle of clinically led decision-making that has guided the fund since it was created.
	We will ensure that there are arrangements in place to protect individual patients who are receiving treatment with drugs funded by the Cancer Drugs Fund as the end of the fund approaches.
	We want to find a way in which patients who would benefit from drugs provided through the Cancer Drugs Fund can continue to do so, at a cost that represents value to the National Health Service, from 2014.

Health: Drugs

Lord Walton of Detchant: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they propose to assess the effects of the new system of value-based pricing; and what assessment they made of its impact on access to treatment for cancer patients.

Earl Howe: The consultation document, A New Value-Based Approach to the Pricing of Branded Medicines set out our proposals for value-based pricing. The consultation ran from 16 December 2010 to 17 March 2011 and the Government's response to the consultation was published on 18 July 2011, A New Value-Based Approach to the Pricing of Branded Medicines: Government Response to Consultation.
	The impact assessment accompanying the consultation document set out an evaluation of the effects of our proposals including an assessment of the possible impact on National Health Service patients, including cancer patients. Copies of the consultation document, the Government's response and the impact assessment have already been placed in the Library.
	The impact assessment will be updated in due course as the new pricing arrangements for branded medicines, including value-based pricing, are finalised.

Health: General Healthcare Group

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have assessed the financial viability of General Healthcare Group, which trades as BMI Hospitals, and its ability to fulfil its obligations as an owner and operator of 72 hospitals.

Earl Howe: It is for commissioners to award contracts to the providers who will provide the best service for patients locally. Commissioners will be expected to have undertaken due diligence on the providers with whom they contract.
	Monitor, the independent healthcare regulator, will use licensing conditions to protect and promote the interests of patients. Licensing conditions will enable Monitor to identify, at an early stage, if a provider is at risk of financial distress, and it can then support the provider to take action.

Health: Neurology

Lord Walton of Detchant: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report of the Sue Ryder Foundation The Forgotten Millions: reforming social care services for people living with neurological conditions, and whether they plan to take any action as a result of its findings.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of a Sue Ryder Foundation report which found that 5% of local authorities know how many individuals with a chronic or disabling neurological condition they care for and 10% have an agreed commissioning strategy for people with neurological conditions, what action they will take to enable local authorities to identify and care for such individuals.

Earl Howe: We have made no assessment. The availability of services to meet the needs of individuals living with a neurological condition is an issue that is best addressed locally.
	Joint strategic needs assessments (JSNAs) and joint health and well-being strategies (JHWSs) will, from 1 April 2013, be an integral part of local health and care commissioning processes. Health and well-being boards will develop a comprehensive analysis of the current and future health and social care needs in each local area through JSNAs and translate these into action in the JHWSs. Health and well-being boards will be under a statutory duty to involve the community and key partners in developing their JSNA and JHWSs to ensure that local services are shaped and influenced by the people who use them. JSNAs and JHWSs will therefore be inclusive of the health and care needs of the whole local population as an objective, comprehensive and-most importantly-a locally owned process of developing evidence-based priorities for commissioning.

Health: Private Healthcare Companies

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what proposals they have to change employment law to strengthen fitness-to-practise tests for people setting up and running private healthcare companies.

Earl Howe: Providers of health and adult social care in England are required to meet a set of registration requirements that set the essential levels of safety and quality. If a new provider cannot meet these essential levels, it will not be registered and will not be able to carry on a regulated activity.
	The department is reviewing how corporate bodies that provide health and adult social care services are held to account for the provision of poor and harmful care. The department aims to complete this review and to bring forward any proposals to improve the arrangements for corporate accountability in the spring. The review is considering both regulatory sanctions available to the Care Quality Commission and criminal sanctions. The department is also assessing whether a fit person test should be introduced for directors of providers of health and adult social care services.

Health: Research

Lord Willis of Knaresborough: To ask Her Majesty's Government what allocation of time is made available in the new NHS consultant contract to further the legal requirement in the Health and Social Care Act 2012 to promote research.

Earl Howe: The current version of the National Health Service consultant contract incorporates all amendments, as at 1 September 2009. In the contract, no time is made specifically available to promote research, but supporting professional activities that underpin direct clinical care may include participation in research. The allocation of time in consultant job plans is a matter for local agreement between individual consultants and their employers.

Health: Research

Lord Willis of Knaresborough: To ask Her Majesty's Government which NHS contracts issued by organisations for which the National Commissioning Board is responsible have included a requirement to promote research, as legally required under the Health and Social Care Act 2012.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what instructions have been given to commissioning authorities by the Chief Executive of the National Commissioning Board to further the legal requirement in the Health and Social Care Act 2012 to promote research.

Earl Howe: The NHS Commissioning Board informs us that no contracts have yet been issued as they are currently being negotiated. The standard terms developed by the board do not place a requirement on providers to promote research.
	The technical guidance to the 2013-14 NHS standard contract includes a list of non-mandatory quality measures that commissioners may wish to use where appropriate. One of these measures is the number of patients recruited to participate in research.
	The board also informs us that it will be ensuring that clinical commissioning groups are aware of their statutory duties (through writing to them outlining these), including the duty to promote research.

Health: Respiratory Disease

Baroness Thornton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support research into idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Earl Howe: The department's National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is currently funding a range of research relating to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The NIHR Health Technology Assessment programme is funding a systematic review of evidence on the benefits, harms and costs of treatments for IPF. The review began in May 2012 and is expected to report in mid 2014. Results will be helpful to patients and carers and also to health care professionals treating IPF. In addition, the NIHR is funding three biomedical research fellowships studying IPF.

Health: Urology

Baroness Wilkins: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the commencement of clinical commissioning groups on stoma and continence patients.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the commencement of clinical commissioning groups on arrangements under Part IX of the Drug Tariff.

Earl Howe: Specialist stoma nurses and other community nursing staff are trained to advise on the most appropriate products for individual patients. Clinical commissioning groups will be responsible for commissioning hospital and community services and will work with local clinicians to draw on their expertise when designing care for patients. For access to products in primary care, the existing Part IX of the drug tariff arrangements will continue and prescribers can prescribe any products listed in Part IX of the drug tariff as they consider appropriate.

Hedgehogs

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the reported decline of a third in the numbers of hedgehogs in the past 10 years; what are the reasons for the decline; and whether they will take any steps to reverse it.

Lord De Mauley: Since the 1990s, the British Trust for Ornithology, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust and other organisations have provided evidence of continued decline in hedgehog numbers and that the population may have decreased by approximately 25% over the past 10 years.
	Under the work to develop the implementation plan for Biodiversity 2020, the Government's strategy for England's wildlife and ecosystem services, Natural England has commissioned work to review all species classified in accordance with Section 41 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 to identify the causes of the decline and priorities for action. The hedgehog is being considered within this context by the Mammal Taxon Group which comprises specialist organisations, led by Natural England.

Higher Education: Funding

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they are supporting poorer students wishing to undertake postgraduate study.

Baroness Garden of Frognal: The Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) has maintained the main funding streams for postgraduate students in 2012-13. The higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has maintained the allocation for taught postgraduate provision at £135 million, similar to levels for 2011-12. HEFCE has also increased support for postgraduate research degree supervision to £240 million and research councils will invest £340 million in postgraduate research provision.
	BIS additionally supports Professional and Career Development Loans (PDLs) provided by Barclays and the Co-operative Bank. PCDLs are deferred-repayment bank loans of up to £10k for up to two years study, usually repaid over period of 1 to 5 years. Postgraduate Taught courses account for almost 90% of the 8,000 loans offered each year. BIS currently contribute, around £l5 million per annum towards interest costs during the period of study, defaults and some programme costs.
	In addition, eligible graduates who choose to enter postgraduate initial teacher training courses can apply for the same package of support as new undergraduate, provided through student finance England. The Teaching Agency also funds a number of schemes for teacher training.
	Students studying on a higher education course who have a disability (including a long-term health condition. mental health condition or specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia) can apply for a Disabled Student Allowance (DSA). DSAs are non means-tested. non-repayable grants awarded in addition to the standard package of student support. DSAs are available to disabled postgraduate students undertaking a designated postgraduate course.

Homelessness

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their current strategy for assisting (1) economic, and (2) Roma, migrants who are destitute in the United Kingdom.

Baroness Hanham: We are stepping up on international action to tackle rough sleeping. We have provided funding to the Passage Day centre in London to develop a Before You Go campaign dealing with the problems faced by destitute economic migrants from Poland.
	We are developing a further homelessness prevention campaign including work with embassies and churches in the home countries in the expanded EU.
	We are promoting the national roll-out of the No Second Night Out model which was launched in London. This aims to get new rough sleepers off the streets quickly and in many areas it links economic migrants, including Roma who do not have recourse to public funds, with reconnection services.
	It is not acceptable to come to England to sleep rough. Quite rightly any country would expect people to be able to support themselves and to accept the help that is available to return home if they became destitute.

Homelessness

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their strategy for dealing with anti-social behaviour and low-level criminal activity among the homeless population in the United Kingdom.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: Dealing with anti-social behaviour and low-level crime is primarily a matter for police forces and their local partners. Police and crime commissioners will hold chief constables to account for the way they tackle local crime and policing priorities, including those related to homelessness where that is an issue. The Government are also reforming the powers available to deal with anti-social behaviour, giving front-line professionals faster, more effective means of protecting victims and communities.

House of Lords: Savings Strategy and Financial Plan

Lord Campbell-Savours: To ask the Chairman of Committees what is the projected saving from the reorganisation of mail delivery services arising out of the House of Lords savings strategy and financial plan approved in 2010.

Lord Sewel: In 2011 the House of Lords Administration entered into an agreement with Royal Mail whereby Royal Mail staff would undertake final desk deliveries in Millbank House at no extra cost to the Administration. This saved an estimated £141,000 per annum by comparison with the cost of the additional five attendants who would otherwise have been needed.

House of Lords: Savings Strategy and Financial Plan

Lord Campbell-Savours: To ask the Chairman of Committees what is the projected saving in the estate cleaning contract costs arising out of the House of Lords savings strategy and financial plan approved in 2010.

Lord Sewel: When Millbank House opened in September 2011, the House of Lords Administration outsourced the cleaning of the building to an external contractor. This saved an estimated £84,700 per annum by comparison with the cost of the additional 21 in-house housekeepers who would otherwise have been needed.

House of Lords: Savings Strategy and Financial Plan

Lord Campbell-Savours: To ask the Chairman of Committees what has been the saving due to the reorganisation of library services arising out of the House of Lords savings strategy and financial plan approved in 2010.

Lord Sewel: The House of Lords Library's outturn expenditure has been reduced from £2.6 million in 2009-10 to £2.1 million in 2011-12. The figure for 2009-10 has been adjusted to remove costs related to the Law Lords' collection, which moved to the Supreme Court in 2010-11.

House of Lords: Savings Strategy and Financial Plan

Lord Campbell-Savours: To ask the Chairman of Committees what has been the saving in the budget for Information Office printing and publicity arising out of the House of Lords savings strategy and financial plan approved in 2010.

Lord Sewel: The House of Lords Information Office's outturn expenditure on printing and publicity has been reduced from £120,395 in 2009-10 to £100,115 in 2011-12.

Houses of Parliament: Police and Security

Lord Campbell-Savours: To ask the Chairman of Committees what market testing has taken place on the provision of policing and security services to the Palace of Westminster.

Lord Sewel: To date, the Metropolitan Police Service has been assessed as the only provider able to meet the established requirements for policing and security on the parliamentary estate. Market testing for the provision of security personnel will be considered as part of the review of our future requirement and of the contractual arrangements currently being undertaken by the Office of the Parliamentary Security Director.

Houses of Parliament: Police and Security

Lord Campbell-Savours: To ask the Chairman of Committees to what extent members of the Joint Committee on Security were involved in the process of approving the terms of the most recent contract for the provision of policing and security services in the Palace of Westminster.

Lord Sewel: The terms of the special services agreement (SSA) with the Metropolitan Police Service were subject to a two-year period of review and negotiation leading up to the commencement of the current SSA in April 2010. JCOS was regularly consulted on the security aspects of the review and recommended the renewal of the SSA on the terms proposed.

Houses of Parliament: Police and Security

Lord Campbell-Savours: To ask the Chairman of Committees whether the contract for the provision of policing and security services to the Palace of Westminster involves the provision of services exclusively within the precincts of the Palace of Westminster or for areas outside the parliamentary estate.

Lord Sewel: The special services agreement (SSA) between the parliamentary authorities and the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) provides for policing and security services across the parliamentary estate; this includes ensuring the security of the perimeter of the estate. The policing of areas outside the parliamentary estate is a matter for the MPS and not covered by the terms of the SSA.

Houses of Parliament: Police and Security

Lord Campbell-Savours: To ask the Chairman of Committees whether the contract for the provision for police and security services to the Palace of Westminster includes measures of (1) man hour contribution, (2) numbers of personnel, (3) administrative contribution, (4) availability of equipment, and (5) other measures of contribution.

Lord Sewel: Under the special services agreement between the parliamentary authorities and the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), the MPS provides the parliamentary authorities with management information against which the performance of the MPS is measured. This information includes (1) hours worked by police officers and security staff, including hours worked on overtime; (2) numbers of personnel employed, vacancy rates and absence levels due to sickness; (3) a breakdown of charges for relevant administration costs incurred by the MPS; (4) availability of the critical equipment provided by Parliament; (5) MPS performance relating to specified security processes; (6) levels of police officer and security staff training; (7) supervisory ratios; and (8) achievement of MPS fitness standards.

Houses of Parliament: Police and Security

Lord Campbell-Savours: To ask the Chairman of Committees on what basis the division of costs for policing the Palace of Westminster is divided between the House of Commons and the House of Lords; and what contract governs the division of costs between the two Houses.

Lord Sewel: The cost of policing and security on the parliamentary estate is shared between the House of Lords and the House of Commons and is charged to each House directly by the Metropolitan Police Service using a 31:69 share ratio. This ratio was agreed in 1999 and reflects the respective security requirements of the two Houses. It is subject to periodic review.

Houses of Parliament: Police and Security

Lord Campbell-Savours: To ask the Chairman of Committees what contracts exist for the provision of security and policing services to the Palace of Westminster by contractors others than the Metropolitan Police.

Lord Sewel: No contract, other than the special services agreement between the parliamentary authorities and the Metropolitan Police Service, provides for security and policing services on the parliamentary estate.

Immigration

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty's Government what evidence they have as to the effect of frequent changes to the Immigration Rules on charities and lawyers that help with immigration applications.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The Government are aware of the cumulative impact on charities and lawyers which frequent changes in the Immigration Rules may have. Over the past two years, the Government have made major reforms to the work, study and family immigration routes to bring net migration to the UK back towards sustainable levels and restore public confidence in the immigration system. While we will make further adjustments where these are needed to achieve the Government's objectives, we anticipate that, with the principal measures now in place, there should be a period of relative stability in policy and therefore in the Immigration Rules. However, we will need to make rules changes where policy change is desired, where legal judgments require or where stakeholders have raised practical issues. The Government will endeavour to ensure this is done in an orderly manner.

Immigration

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what provisions are in place to assist destitute migrants residing in the United Kingdom who are not entitled to access to public funds.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: There are strict legal controls on foreign nationals' entitlement to claim specified income-related and disability benefits and social housing (public funds). These are necessary to protect the taxpayer from additional burdens arising from migration. Controls also apply to the eligibility of non-EEA and EEA nationals with community care needs to receive safety net national assistance support from local authorities in cases of destitution. Such support is only available in limited circumstances, where children are involved or where human rights would otherwise be breached. In other cases, migrants are expected to avoid the consequences of destitution by returning to their own countries. The UK Border Agency is working with local authorities to produce a comprehensive record of all migrants in receipt of local authority support so these cases can be dealt with more effectively.

Inflation

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government on how many occasions since May 2010 the annual rate of inflation has been at or below the target set for the Monetary Policy Committee by the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Lord Deighton: The Chancellor set the remit of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) at Budget 2012, to target 2% inflation, as measured by the 12-month increase in the Consumer Prices Index.
	The Office for National Statistics is responsible for producing and publishing inflation data, which can be found on its website1.
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/cpi/consumer-price-indices/january-2013/cpi-and-rpi-reference-tables.xls

Inflation

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government when reported annual inflation was last on or below the target set by the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Lord Deighton: The Chancellor set the remit of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) at Budget 2012 to target 2% inflation, as measured by the 12-month increase in the consumer prices index. The independent Office for National Statistics is responsible for producing and publishing inflation data, which can be found on its website1.
	1 http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/datasets-and-tables/index. html?pageSize=50&sortBy=none&sortDirection= none&newquery=inflation&content-type=Reference +table&content-type=Dataset

Insolvency

Lord Kilclooney: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have received from European Union institutions to bring about changes in insolvency laws in the United Kingdom; and which member states of the European Union have made representations in the past three years to have those insolvency laws changed.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: The European Commission published proposals in December 2012 to amend the EC regulation on insolvency proceedings. The proposed amendments are currently under consideration. No other representations for changes to our insolvency laws have been received from either the European Union institutions or other member states.

Iran

Lord Wigley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Government of Iran regarding the number and circumstances of executions taking place in Iran.

Baroness Warsi: Following the closure of our embassy in Tehran in 2011, we have had very limited contact with Iranian officials. However, the UK frequently condemns publicly, and in international fora, Iran's excessive use of the death penalty and the way in which it is applied. We supported an EU demarche last autumn raising our concerns about Iran's death penalty use.

Israel

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will make representations to the Government of Israel about the proposed position of the wall near Bethlehem, once this ceases to be the subject of litigation.

Baroness Warsi: The UK position on the separation barrier is clear: if Israel wished to build the barrier, it should have been built on the 1967 border. Where it is constructed on the Palestinian side of that border, it is illegal under international law. The construction of the barrier and illegal settlements have led to the confiscation of land and places increasing restrictions on movement and access throughout the West Bank, as well as threatening prospects for a two-state solution. This is in addition to issues caused by the routing of the separation barrier through Palestinian agricultural land, often preventing communities from pursuing their traditional livelihoods.
	We will continue to argue for a just outcome for all the people affected by illegal settlement construction and the confiscation of land due to the separation barrier. This includes funding from the Department for International Development for the Norwegian Refugee Council to provide legal support to communities affected by the occupation. We regularly make representations on these issues to the Government of Israel and will continue to do so.

Israel

The Lord Bishop of Exeter: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Government of Israel regarding plans to construct a barrier through the Cremisan Valley in Bethlehem.

Baroness Warsi: In our conversations on this issue with the Israeli Government, the Government continue to express their position that the barrier, if built, should only be constructed on the Green Line. We will continue to press this point with the Israeli authorities.

Israel

The Lord Bishop of Exeter: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the local community in the Cremisan Valley in Bethlehem of the Government of Israel's proposal to construct a barrier through the valley.

Baroness Warsi: The proposed route of the separation barrier near to the Cremisan Monastery will have a serious impact on the communities in the area. This includes the Palestinian village of Al Walajah which will lose direct access to its agricultural lands. The barrier will also obstruct movement and access for communities in the vicinity, affecting their ability to access schooling and healthcare facilities.
	Our Consulate-General in Jerusalem has supported this community by organising a summer sports camp for children paid for from our Bilateral Fund. The Department for International Development also provides funding for the Norwegian Refugee Council to provide legal support for the communities affected. In our conversations on this issue with the Israeli Government, the Government continue to express their position that the barrier, if built, should only be constructed on the Green Line.

Israel

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Government of Israel about the killing in November by Israeli security forces of Ahmad Jabari.

Baroness Warsi: Officials from our embassy in Tel Aviv discussed the death of Ahmed al-Jabari with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defence and National Security Council in the context of wider discussions over the Gaza crisis of November 2012.

Israel

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had regarding a ban on the import of goods from Israeli settlements in the light of the report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees published in January.

Baroness Warsi: We are considering this report and its recommendations in detail prior to discussions with the Fact Finding Mission during the 22nd Session of the Human Rights Council.
	It is the Government's long-standing view that settlements are illegal under international law and Israel's presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is governed by the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention, to which Israel is a state party. We repeatedly call on Israel to abide by its obligations under international law and regularly raise our profound concerns over Israel's settlement policy, including its impact on the rights of Palestinian people across the Occupied Palestinian Territories. We will continue to press the next Israeli Government to cease all settlement activity.

Israel

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they will make to the Government of Israel concerning their refusal to take part in the January 2013 Universal Periodic Review session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Baroness Warsi: We have been in regular contact with the Government of Israel regarding the Universal Periodic Review. We note that the Government of Israel have now formally asked for the review to be postponed. We support the efforts of the president of the Human Rights Council to urge Israel to re-engage with the review process. We value the universality of the Universal Periodic Review and will continue to urge Israel to re-engage throughout our contacts with Israel in the UK, Geneva and Israel.

Israel and Palestine

Baroness Deech: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the comments by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 7 February (Official Report, col. 445), for how many refugees the United Nations Relief and Works Agency had responsibility in (1) 1950, (2) 2003, and (3) currently.

Baroness Northover: Further to the comments by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 7 February (Official Report, col. 445), the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) had responsibility for the following numbers of refugees in the years specified: (1) 876,000 in 1950, (2) 4,082,300 in 2003, (3) As of July 2012, the latest date for which figures are available, UNRWA has responsibility for approximately 4,871,341 registered refugees.

Israel and Palestine

Baroness Deech: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the comments by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 7 February (Official Report, col. 445), how many of the refugees for which the United Nations Relief and Works Agency has responsibility are nationals of the countries in which they are situated.

Baroness Northover: Palestine refugees in Jordan have full Jordanian citizenship with the exception of approximately 140,000 refugees originally from the Gaza Strip.
	The legal status of Palestinian refugees in the Syrian Arab Republic, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip remains substantially the same as that described in the 2008 report of the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, paragraphs 52-55. The full report can be accessed at the following link: Report of the Commissioner-General of the United Nations.
	Palestine refugees in Lebanon are not nationals of Lebanon and have very limited rights.

Israel and Palestine

Baroness Deech: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the comments by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 7 February (Official Report, col. 445), what financial contribution has been made by (1) the United Kingdom, (2) the European Union, and (3) the Gulf States, to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in the last ten years.

Baroness Northover: Further to the comments by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 7 February (Official Report, col. 445), the following financial contributions have been made by (1) the United Kingdom, (2) the European Union, and (3) the Gulf States, to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in the past 10 years.
	(1) $439,278,286 made by the United Kingdom;
	(2) $1,587,661,683 made by the European Union; and
	(3) $225,717,722 made by the Gulf States.
	Gulf States have also made substantial contributions by hosting Palestine refugees.

Israel and Palestine

Baroness Deech: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the comments by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 7 February (Official Report, col. 445), what plans they have to initiate or fund reports on children in military captivity.

Baroness Warsi: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is the lead government department on issues of children and armed conflict, working closely with the Department for International Development and the Ministry of Defence. The Government continue to play an active role on this policy agenda, including working through the UN and through direct support to projects aimed at protecting and empowering children affected by armed conflict. There are no plans, however, to initiate or fund reports on children in military captivity.

Israel and Palestine

Lord Warner: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their response to the proposal of the Government of Israel to resume its policy of not transferring tax revenues to the Palestinian Authority if the Authority agrees to form a Palestinian unity government with Hamas.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: Israel has a responsibility to collect tax revenues on behalf of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and to transfer them to the PA at regular intervals. We have repeatedly raised this issue with the Government of Israel and made the UK position clear, including with the Israeli ambassador to London, the acting Israeli Foreign Minister and in the meetings our officials from the Embassy in Tel Aviv have with senior interlocutors. We will continue to do so.
	Our policy on Hamas is also clear. Hamas must renounce violence, recognise Israel and accept previously signed agreements. The Government will engage with any Palestinian Government who show through their words and actions that they are committed to the principles set out by President Abbas in Cairo in May 2011. We support the calls for free and fair Palestinian elections.

Israel and Palestine

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees regarding recompense from the Government of Israel for the destruction of Paralympic training facilities built by the Agency in Gaza.

Baroness Northover: United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) officials from the Gaza office have confirmed that UNRWA did not build the Paralympic training facilities in Gaza to which this question refers.
	We are aware of the destruction and damage sustained to a number of buildings during the recent Gaza conflict and are addressing the highest priority needs for humanitarian assistance and reconstruction in Gaza, in co-ordination with other donors and humanitarian agencies.

Israel and Palestine: West Bank

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the Government of Israel concerning their refusal to allow holders of United Kingdom passports who are of Palestinian origin to enter the West Bank.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: As the occupying power of the West Bank, Israel is responsible for the crossing points. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is unable to interfere in the immigration policies or procedures of another country and for this reason we are not able to approach the Israel authorities to request that they do not hinder the passage of the British nationals wishing to travel on to the Occupied Palestinian Territories. It is within the remit of the Israeli immigration officials to decide who they allow to enter.

Israel and Palestine: West Bank

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the Government of Israel concerning their renaming of the West Bank as Judea and Samaria.

Baroness Warsi: We have not made any representations to the Israeli authorities on this issue.
	The Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs), including the West Bank, encompass parts of the historical British mandate of Palestine, which included the areas of Judea and Samaria. When dealing with the Israeli Government, the UK always refers to the area as the West Bank.
	It has long been the Government's view that Israel's presence in the OPTs is governed by the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, to which Israel is a state party. The OPTs were not lawfully part of the state of Israel at its creation or at any point thereafter, and we consider that the level of control that Israel retains over the territories amounts to occupation under international law.

Kenya

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the risks posed to Christians in the north-eastern province of Kenya from the Somali-based Islamist group al-Shabaab.

Baroness Warsi: We have had reports of two attacks against Christian places of worship in Kenya's North East Province in recent months. This is part of a wider increase in terrorist attacks by domestic and Somali extremist groups against a range of Kenyan targets. We assess these attacks are linked to Kenya's military intervention in Somalia and that the risk is unlikely to diminish in the immediate future.

King Richard III

Lord Birt: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they will take to promote the re-interment of the remains of King Richard III.

Lord McNally: It is not for the Government or the Ministry of Justice to decide where the remains of Richard III will be re-interred. The licence issued by the Ministry of Justice includes conditions on where the remains should be re-interred, as well as stating that the remains should be treated with due care and attention to decency. It is for the University of Leicester as the licensee to determine where the remains should be laid to rest. They have indicated that they intend to re-inter the remains in Leicester Cathedral, which is one of the possible locations referred to in the licence.

Legal Aid

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they propose in the forthcoming Legal Aid Eligibility Criteria Regulations to require means-tested benefit recipients to be subject to an assessment of capital including their homes; and, if so, why it was not mentioned in the impact assessment and what assessment they have made of the impact of any policy change.

Lord McNally: Currently, a person receiving certain passporting benefits may have up to £16,000 disposable capital but is automatically deemed eligible for civil legal aid on both income and capital. However, a person who does not receive these passporting benefits and who has more than £8,000 in disposable capital is ineligible for civil legal aid. The Government believe that this is inequitable and intend that all applicants should be subject to the same disposable capital test. This will mean that any applicant who has disposable capital above £8,000 will be ineligible for legal aid.
	This proposed change to eligibility rules was specifically consulted upon as part of the consultation Proposals for the Reform of Legal Aid in England and Wales. The Government's June 2011 response to that consultation confirmed that they would take forward the proposal. The impact of the proposal was specifically assessed in the impact assessments produced in relation to the proposals in that consultation. The savings as a result of this change are estimated to be around £10 million in steady state. The Government intend to include this proposed change in the regulations regarding financial eligibility for civil legal aid to be made under the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. These regulations will be laid in time to come into force for 1 April 2013.

Lithuania

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Warsi on 4 February (WA 15-6), what were the results of the inquiries about general conditions in Lithuanian prisons, including Lukiskes; and whether those have affected their determination of Lithuania's readiness to receive transfers under the European Union prisoner transfer agreement.

Baroness Warsi: Lithuanian officials have stated that Lithuanian prison capacity is 9,499 places. On 17 December 2012, there were 9,662 prisoners-just under 3% above the capacity. Lithuania hopes, its officials believe, that its recent probation law will reduce the size of its prison population, with a resulting improvement in general conditions. UK officials have not determined Lithuania's readiness to receive transfers under the EU prisoner transfer agreement as Lithuania has yet to implement the agreement.

Met Office

Lord Donoughue: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Marland on 29 November 2012 (WA 79) and the letter of 7 December 2012 from the Chief Executive of the Met Office to Lord Donoughue which recognised the importance of the statistical study of autocorrelation and time dependency, what statistical analysis supported the news release issued by the Met Office on 3 January 2013, which warned of a possible increase in United Kingdom precipitation.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: I have asked the Chief Executive Officer of the Met Office to respond direct to the noble Lord.
	Letter from John Hirst, Chief Executive of the Met Office, to Lord Donoughue dated 13 February 2013.
	I am replying on behalf of the Met Office to your Parliamentary Question tabled on 11 January 2013, HL5360, to Her Majesty's Government.
	The news release issued by the Met Office on 3 January 2013 did not include statistical analysis of the magnitude or significance of trends in rainfall. We reported basic conclusions on observed rainfall amounts from the UK national record dating back to 1910, with provisional figures showing 2012 was the second wettest year in the record and four of the top five wettest years occurring since 2000. We also reported on long-term averages of 30-year periods, which show an increase in annual rainfall of about 5% from 1961-1990 to 1981-2010.
	In addition, we announced results from preliminary research by the Met Office which suggests there has been an increase in the frequency of very wet days in the last 50 years. This was based on an analysis of the frequency of daily rainfall amounts since 1960 exceeding the 99th percentile, which is equivalent to events that would occur roughly 1 in 100 days on average.
	Research continues at the Met Office to better understand the physical processes that contribute to such changes in rainfall and how this may affect rainfall patterns and the resilience of the UK to changes in climate in the future.
	I hope this helps.

Migration

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they are currently undertaking with the Governments of (1) Romania, and (2) Bulgaria, with regard to the perception of life in the United Kingdom in those countries; and if they are not holding such discussions, whether they intend to do so.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: No such discussions have taken place and there are no current plans to do so. The Government are, however, considering ways to reduce the pull factors for migration to the UK.

Migration

Lord Ashcroft: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of studies conducted in Bulgaria suggesting large numbers of the population of that country are planning to emigrate to the United Kingdom after 1 January 2014.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: Her Majesty's Government are not aware of any such studies.
	The Government accept the view of the independent Migration Advisory Committee that to produce estimates of the number of Romanians or Bulgarians planning to emigrate to the UK after January 2014 "would not be sensible, or helpful, to policymakers". The Government's priority is to cut out abuse of free movement and to address pull factors such as access to benefits and public services. The Home Office is working closely with other government departments on these issues.

National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence

Lord McColl of Dulwich: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the cost in each of the past 10 years of running the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence; and how many people are employed by that organisation.

Earl Howe: Information on the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's (NICE) net expenditure and staff in post for the past 10 years is included in the following table.
	
		
			 Year Net expenditure 1 £ millions Average number of persons employed 2 
			 2002-03 14.143 48 
			 2003-04 16.602 81 
			 2004-05 18.217 111 
			 2005-063 25.992 185 
			 2006-07 27.679 221 
			 2007-08 32.578 261 
			 2008-09 34.010 279 
			 2009-10 55.613 390 
			 2010-11 59.046 451 
			 2011-124 59.176 508 
		
	
	Source: National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence
	1 Figures for 2002-03-2008-09 represent NICE's operating cost statement. Figures for 2009-10 onwards represent NICE's comprehensive net expenditure.
	2 The average number of whole-time equivalent persons employed (excluding non-executive directors).
	3 Includes the impact of the transfer to NICE of functions and staff of the Health Development Agency.
	4 Includes the impact of the transfer to NICE of functions and staff of the National Prescribing Centre.

National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence

Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the average cost of the conduct of a technology appraisal by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence.

Earl Howe: We have made no such estimate. Based on its 2011-15 business plan, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) estimates the average cost for producing a piece of technology appraisal guidance to be £103,075. This is based on a budget allocation for its technology appraisals programme of £4,123,000 and the projected publication of 40 technology appraisals in 2011-12. NICE has not produced figures based on actual spend and outputs. In addition, academic support for the NICE appraisal programme is commissioned separately by the National Institute for Health Research.

Nepal

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask Her Majesty's Government what changes have taken place following the last annual review of the Multi-Stakeholder Forestry Programme in Nepal; whether the objectives have changed; whether any part of the programme has been suspended or deferred; and whether the Department for International Development will be reimbursed for any misuse of aid funds.

Baroness Northover: Nepal's Multi-Stakeholder Forestry Programme, which is funded by the Department for International Development (DfID), is now back on track. DfID's most senior forestry expert visited Nepal in December 2012 and concluded that good progress has been made since the annual review was undertaken in August 2012. No part of the new programme has been suspended or deferred.
	DfID has rigorous methods in place to make sure no UK funds are misused or lost. DfID only recently disbursed its first tranche of funds to the programme in December 2012 following the formal launch of the programme by the Government of Nepal. DfID delayed its first payment until it was satisfied that the Government had taken full ownership, that programme management was robust and that the necessary safeguards were in place. Future tranches will be made based on progress of the programme.

NHS: Commissioning Support Units

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government how commissioning support units will be held accountable for their actions.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government how they intend to ensure transparency in decisions made by Commissioning Support Units.

Earl Howe: NHS commissioning support units are currently hosted by primary care trusts (PCTs) and are held to account for their actions through the formal governance arrangements of the PCT. Responsibility for the oversight of their development rests with strategic health authorities up to April 2013.
	From April 2013, NHS commissioning support units will become hosted by the NHS Commissioning Board (NHS CB) and will be held to account through a formal sub-committee of the NHS CB Board. However, they will also be held accountable for their actions by their customers, including clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), who have responsibility for ensuring that commissioning support units deliver high-quality and responsive services in accordance with their service level agreements and contractual obligations.
	Commissioning support units are not statutory bodies or commissioners and therefore do not make commissioning decisions. They will support the NHS Commissioning Board, CCGs and other commissioners to carry out their commissioning duties and responsibilities. CCGs cannot delegate or subcontract their commissioning decisions, which they will always remain accountable for.

NHS: Complaints

Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many complaints Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has received in each year since 2008; and how much compensation it has paid in settlements.

Earl Howe: Information about the number of written complaints received by Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Hospital and community health services-written complaints by organisation, 2008-09 to 2011-12 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 268 404 476 489 
		
	
	Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre, workforce and community datasets
	Note: Data as at 1 April-31 March each year.
	The NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA) collects information about the number of compensation claims reported to it by National Health Service bodies in England, together with the amounts it disburses on behalf of NHS bodies to handle and settle claims. However, the NHSLA deals only with claims relating to clinical negligence and to public and employer's liability claims. All other types of claim, such as employment claims relating to equal pay or age discrimination, are dealt with by the trust concerned. The department does not hold data on these types of claim.
	The noble Lord may therefore wish to contact Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust directly for a comprehensive answer on the amount of compensation it has paid in settlements.

NHS: End-of-life Care

Lord Clement-Jones: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to meet the objective of the NHS mandate that the NHS be recognised globally as having the highest standards of care at the end of people's lives.

Earl Howe: The Government's mandate to the NHS Commissioning Board for April 2013 to March 2015 includes an objective for the board to improve the experience of care for people at the end of their lives. This will provide an incentive for the National Health Service continuously to improve care for people at the end of their lives. It will be monitored through an indicator in the NHS Outcomes Framework, based on the VOICES survey of bereaved relatives. Implementation of the End of Life Care Strategy moves to the NHS Commissioning Board, supported by the new improvement body.

NHS: National Clinical Directors

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what criteria are used in determining whether a National Clinical Director role should be established for a particular condition or group of conditions.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government why the NHS Commissioning Board has not established a National Clinical Director for Ophthalmology.

Earl Howe: The approach to recruiting National Clinical Directors is a matter for the NHS Commissioning Board. However, the board has advised that its approach to determining which areas to recruit National Clinical Directors has been guided by the objectives set for it in the Mandate and a desire to provide clinical leadership across a broad range of fronts, focusing more on people and patient pathways than specific conditions.
	The board has also advised that its approach recognised that there are some conditions which contribute to premature mortality and where the burden of disease is high and that these are reflected in the portfolio of National Clinical Director posts being recruited to at this particular point in time.

NHS: Patient Care

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they will take to improve patient care in response to the findings of the public inquiry into Stafford Hospital.

Earl Howe: We are extremely grateful to Robert Francis QC for publishing his report of the public inquiry into the serious failings at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust. We are considering the detail of the report and the 290 recommendations and will be responding soon.

Nuclear Weapons

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty's Government which departments will send representatives to the conference on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons in Oslo on 4 and 5 March.
	The Senior Minister of State, Department for Communities and Local Government & Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Warsi): The Government are considering their position on the conference on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons in Oslo. We believe that our focus should be on making progress against the tangible issues set out in the 2010 Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Action Plan, which was agreed by consensus by all NPT signatories. To this end, the UK continues to work closely with our P5 and non-nuclear weapon state partners to make progress against our NPT Action Plan commitments. We would be cautious about parallel processes that could distract attention away from this.

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the outcome document of the last Review Conference on the implementation of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, what assessment they have made of the extent of their preparedness, including emergency plans and existing capacity, to respond to a major nuclear incident.

Baroness Verma: Her Majesty's Government take nuclear emergency preparedness extremely seriously. The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) continually assess the UK's preparedness in terms of planning for and being able to respond to nuclear incidents. For example, following the events at Fukushima in Japan in 2011, ONR carried out a detailed assessment of the implications of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami for the UK (the Weightman Report), which included assessments and recommendations concerning emergency preparedness arrangements. The 2011 report and the recent assessment of progress against the report can be found here: http://www.hse.gov.uk/nuclear/fukushima/.
	The outcome document of the review conference in 2010 on the implementation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty included two specific actions concerning nuclear emergency preparedness arrangements.
	The first of these actions asked states to consider becoming party, if they have not yet done so, to the Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident and the Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency. HM Government have signed and ratified these IAEA conventions and implemented them within the UK legal framework for response. The national arrangements for responding to nuclear emergencies include provision for fulfilling the requirements of these conventions and other international treaties. Furthermore, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has implemented bilateral arrangements with a number of other States for notifying and informing them of the current situation either in the UK or abroad.
	The outcome document also included an action on states to ensure that the transportation of radioactive materials was consistent with relevant international standards of safety, security and environmental protection, and to continue communication between shipping and coastal states for the purpose of confidence-building and addressing concerns regarding transport safety, security and emergency preparedness.
	In the UK, there are legal requirements for consignors of radioactive material to have arrangements to cover emergencies. The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) is responsible for regulating the land transport of radioactive material on behalf of DECC and part of this work involves ensuring that suitable emergency preparedness plans are in place, that they are adequate for foreseeable accidents involving the material being transported and that these plans are exercised.
	The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) regulates the sea transport of radioactive material. The MCA has special arrangements in place to cover the notification process for shipments of nuclear waste and maintain up-to-date copies of all the ship emergency plans. The National Contingency Plan for Marine Pollution from Shipping and Offshore Installations (NCP), which is reviewed regularly, also covers the preparedness for such events.

Offenders: Outsourcing Probation

Lord Sharkey: To ask Her Majesty's Government how, in the event of the outsourcing of probation tasks, they will ensure continuity of supervision for cases initially deemed medium risk and supervised by the private sector which are upgraded to high risk and transferred to public sector supervision.

Lord McNally: Under our proposals set out in Transforming Rehabilitation-A Revolution in the way we Manage Offenders, published on 9 January, the public sector will manage directly those offenders who pose the highest risk of serious harm to the public and those falling under Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA). All other offenders will be managed by a private or voluntary sector provider and there will need to be close working between the public sector and private and voluntary sector probation professionals.
	We will put arrangements in place so that in cases where the risk of serious harm escalates, providers will notify the public sector probation service and take appropriate further action to safeguard the public. The consultation document seeks views on how best to specify public sector oversight requirements in contracts, to avoid bureaucracy but ensure effective public protection arrangements.
	The consultation closed on 22 February 2013 and we will set out further details of how we will reform the way we manage offenders once we have considered responses.

Offenders: Outsourcing Probation

Lord Sharkey: To ask Her Majesty's Government how private sector providers will address the drug addictions of offenders in the event of outsourcing of probation tasks.

Lord McNally: The Ministry of Justice has recently published the consultation paper Transforming Rehabilitation -A Revolution in the Way We Manage Offenders, which sets out proposals for driving down reoffending by extending rehabilitative provision, opening up service delivery and paying by results.
	Our consultation sets out a clear aim for providers of rehabilitative services to tackle offenders' broader life management issues-including by connecting them to drug and alcohol treatment programmes. We intend to build on existing collaboration between departments and to explore how to align incentives for the new rehabilitation providers to support the delivery of or access to provision across a range of public services.
	The consultation closed on 22 February 2013 and we will set out further details of how we will reform the way we manage offenders once we have considered responses.

Offenders: Rehabilitation

Lord Sharkey: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether restorative justice is central to their transforming rehabilitation plans.

Lord McNally: We are committed to ensuring that restorative justice is embedded into and established across all stages of the criminal justice system so that more victims and offenders have access to this process as it has been shown to have benefits for both victims and offenders. We are currently considering how restorative justice fits with Transforming Rehabilitation-A Revolution in the way we Manage Offenders which sets out proposals for driving down reoffending by extending rehabilitative provision, opening up service delivery and paying by results.

Overseas Aid

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will assess the effectiveness of the deployment of promised bilateral and international grants and loans for the purpose of revitalising the economics of the Middle East and North Africa, with a view to reducing youth unemployment.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: Reducing unemployment, including youth employment, in states supported by the Arab Partnership is an important aim of our policy. The Arab Partnership (AP) is subject to robust evaluation procedures. This includes the Department for International Development (DfID) led Arab Partnership Economic Facility contributions to the International Financial Institutions (World Bank. International Monetary Fund, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development et cetera), which have as their aim "Sustainable Economic Growth (including Youth employability)".
	A joint Foreign and Commonwealth Office-DfID working group will manage and commission an evaluation of the AP, which will be independent and transparent, in line with DfID's policy on evaluation of UK official development assistance. The evaluation will begin in 2013 and run until the programme ends in 2015; an interim report will be published on the AP and DfID websites by the end of 2013.
	In addition, a number of the programmes under the DfID-led AP Economic Facility in support of economic reform and job creation in the region will also be subject to independent evaluation, as set out in the individual project business cases, published on the DfID website.

Overseas Aid

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have taken steps to ensure that Department for International Development-supported programmes in India do not support forced hysterectomies.

Baroness Northover: There is some evidence that poor women in India are misled to undergo hysterectomy by doctors in the largely unregulated private sector. UK aid supported health programmes are helping state Governments to regulate private healthcare providers and give health advice to poor women so that coercion in health services is less likely to happen.

Parliament Square

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect Section 143(1) of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 to be enforced in respect of the remaining encampment in Parliament Square.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The relevant provisions of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act were brought into force on 19 December 2011. The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) has used the powers under Section 143 of the PRSR Act 2011 to remove encampments from Parliament Square.
	The management of Parliament Square, including operational decisions to keep the square clear of encampments, is a matter for the Metropolitan Police, Westminster City Council and the Greater London Authority.

Patient Advisory and Liaison Service

Lord Willis of Knaresborough: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the total allocation of resource to the Patient Advisory and Liaison Service in each of the years 2010-11 and 2011-12; and what is the total budget allocation for local Healthwatch organisations in the years 2013-14 and 2014-15.

Earl Howe: On the Patient Advice and Liaison Services (PALS), the current cash allocation for is not identified separately within the National Health Service budget because it is seen as an integral part of overall NHS running costs.
	In April 2002, £10 million was added to the NHS baseline budget to reflect the activity of PALS. Since then this sum has been adjusted annually in line with the overall NHS budget allocation.
	On Healthwatch, we have made £43.5 million available nationally in 2013-14 for local authorities to fund local Healthwatch. Provisionally, we expect to allocate the same amount in 2014-15.
	Of this, £30.2 million of local Healthwatch funding will be made available nationally through the Local Government Finance Settlement. It is for local authorities to choose how best to spend money allocated in this way.
	The remaining £13.3 million will form a part of the new Local Reform and Community Voices Grant. This grant covers a number of funding streams, including local Healthwatch. This grant is not ring-fenced, so again it will be for local authorities to decide how best to spend their grants.

Planning

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government which local planning authorities have had core strategies rejected at examination, or subjected to major amendment; and for what reasons.

Baroness Hanham: The tables below set out the information on Core Strategies produced by local planning authorities that have been found unsound, or have been withdrawn in advance of a potential finding of unsoundness since 2004.
	Prior to the Localism Act 2011, local councils were required to submit their draft plan for public examination by an independent inspector, appointed by the Secretary of State. Following the examination, the inspector produced a report which could modify the plan which a local authority had to accept before it can formally adopt the plan. These changes felt imposed and undemocratic.
	In the Localism Act, we removed the inspectors' powers to impose changes. Inspectors now report to the local authority and identify conflicts between the Local Plan and national policy and regulatory process. However, they are only able to recommend modifications to overcome these issues if they are asked to do so by the council itself. Councils are now able to suggest their own modifications for assessment by the inspector during the examination, as well as making minor non-material changes themselves. The council is then free to choose to accept the inspector's modifications and adopt the plan, or resubmit a new plan. This approach is aimed at encouraging a more collaborative process as the examination of a plan proceeds.
	The Localism Act provisions came into effect on 15 January 2012. The third table below lists where plans have been subject to such modifications.
	
		
			 Unsound Core Strategies 
			 Pre Localism Act 2011 
			 Carrick Stafford 
			 Chichester Stevenage 
			 Lichfield Teignbridge 
			 Restormel Windsor & Maidenhead 
			 Ryedale  
			 Post Localism Act 2011 
			 None-subject to Councils in table 3 accepting "main modifications" on adoption  
		
	
	
		
			 Withdrawn Core Strategies 
			 Pre Localism Act 2011 
			 Adur Newcastle Upon Tyne 
			 Aylesbury Vale Northumberland CC 
			 Brent Reigate & Banstead 
			 Brighton & Hove Runnymede 
			 Bury Rushmoor 
			 Castle Point Shrewsbury 
			 Hertsmere Test Valley 
			 Huntingdon Tower Hamlets 
			 Isle of Wight x 2 West Berkshire 
			 Islington Waverley 
			 Luton and South Central Beds Woking 
			 Medway Worthing 
			 Post Localism Act 2011 
			 Hull City Council Salford 
			 Rochdale York 
		
	
	
		
			 Core Strategies subject to "Main Modifications" 
			 Post Localism Act 2011 
			 Barnet Newham LB 
			 Bournemouth North Somerset 
			 Central Lancs Purbeck 
			 Croydon South Oxfordshire 
			 Doncaster South Staffordshire 
			 Ealing LB St Helens 
			 Eastbourne Taunton Deane 
			 Halton Watford 
			 Hertsmere Wealden 
			 Hillingdon LB West Berkshire 
			 Manchester Woking 
			 Mid Suffolk

Police and Crime Commissioners

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what information they have received about the selection process carried out for the appointment of the Deputy and Assistant Crime Commissioners in South Wales; and whether they intend to intervene in the process.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: Ministers and the Home Office have no role in the appointment of deputy police and crime commissioners (PCC) or other PCC staff and no powers to intervene. It is for the PCC to select their team and justify their decisions to the communities they serve.

Post-2015 Millennium Development Goals

The Lord Bishop of Bath and Wells: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are their priorities for the United Nations General Assembly's open working group on sustainable development goals.

Baroness Northover: The UK welcomes the recent establishment of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals. The Government are working through all channels to promote a single, integrated post-2015 development agenda to succeed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The agenda should build on the successes of the MDGs and retain the focus on ending poverty), doing so through sustainable development. It should be updated to reflect the changes in the world since the MDGs were agreed, and promote the prerequisites for people to escape poverty (the absence of conflict, effective institutions, the rule of law, transparency and accountability, an enabling environment for economic growth) and sustainable use of natural resources.

Post-2015 Millennium Development Goals

The Lord Bishop of Bath and Wells: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the negotiations for a successor framework to the post-Millennium Development Goals and the negotiations for Sustainable Development Goals result in one set of goals with sustainability as an integral component.

Baroness Northover: As co-chair of the High-Level Panel on the Post-2015 development framework, the Prime Minister has been clear about the need for a single set of goals. The co-chair paper tabled in Monrovia supported this. The Government are also working closely with EU partners to promote a single framework that focuses on poverty eradication and sees sustainable development as the means by which we achieve it. The Secretary of State, the right honourable Justine Greening MP, attended the Monrovia meeting on 31 January and the Informal EU Development Ministers meeting in Dublin, 11-12 February where she set out the government position about the need for development of a single framework.

Prisoners: Care System

Lord Sharkey: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) prisoners, and (2) persons under the supervision of the probation service, experience a period in local authority care.

Lord McNally: (1) Data on the number of prisoners who have experienced a period in local authority care are not routinely collected. The information could be obtained only by asking each prison to conduct a manual search of their records and then to collate this information at a disproportionate cost.
	A survey of prisoners sentenced to between one month and four years in 2005 and 2006 found that 24% of prisoners reported that they had been in care at some point during their childhood. This includes both long and short-term periods in care (MOJ Research Series 4/12).
	(2) Data on the number of people under the supervision of the probation service who have experienced a period in local authority care are not routinely collected. The information could be obtained only by asking each probation trust to conduct a manual search of their records and then to collate this information at a disproportionate cost.
	The Offender Management Community Cohort Study (OMCCS) includes information on whether offenders on community orders had lived with foster parents or in an institution before the age of 17. Results from this study are planned for publication during 2013.

Prisons: Food

Lord Tebbit: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there have been any cases of the serving of halal meat to Christians, Sikhs or Jews in HM Prisons.

Lord McNally: A prison menu will include meals deemed suitable for all main religions and cultures. To assist prisoners make an informed choice, meals are categorised into suitability groups such as vegetarian, halal and vegan, and this suitability is identified on published menus. Prisoners are free to make their own choice when selecting meals. No records are kept of the number of meals selected by type against known religious or cultural preferences.

Public Bodies

Baroness Smith of Basildon: To ask Her Majesty's Government which public bodies are included in the Civil Service headcount.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, Director General for ONS, to Baroness Smith, dated February 2013.
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking which public bodies are included in the civil service headcount. (HL5470)
	Official estimates of civil service employment are produced quarterly as part of the Public Sector Employment release and annually in the Civil Service Statistics release.
	Annex A contains the list of public bodies included in the civil service headcount in the Quarter 3 Public Sector Employment release, published in December 2012: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/pse/public-sector-employment/q3-2012/stb-pse-2012q3.html. The public bodies are grouped by the sponsoring department in the annex.
	The table will be stored in the Library of the House.
	
		
			 Public Bodies included in the Civil Service Headcount-Quarter 3 2012[1] 
			 Attorney General's departments 
			 Attorney General's Office 
			 Crown Prosecution Service 
			 Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate 
			 Serious Fraud Office 
			 Treasury Solicitor 
			 Business, Innovation and Skills 
			 Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (excluding agencies) 
			 Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service 
			 Companies House 
			 Insolvency Service 
			 Land Registry 
			 Met Office 
			 National Measurement Office 
			 Office of Fair Trading 
			 Office of Gas and Electricity Market 
			 Ordnance Survey 
			 Skills Funding Agency 
			 UK Intellectual Property Office 
			 UK Space Agency 
			 Cabinet Office 
			 Cabinet Office (excluding agencies) 
			 Other Cabinet Office agencies 
			 Government Procurement Service 
			 Office of the Parliamentary Counsel 
			 Charity Commission 
			 Charity Commission 
			 Communities and Local Government 
			 Department for Communities and Local Government (excluding agencies) 
			 Fire Service College 
			 Planning Inspectorate 
			 Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre 
			 Culture, Media and Sport 
			 Department for Culture Media and Sport (excluding agencies) 
			 Royal Parks 
			 Defence 
			 Ministry of Defence (excluding trading funds) 
			 Defence Science and Technology Laboratory 
			 Defence Support Group 
			 UK Hydrographic Office 
			 Department for Education 
			 Department for Education (excluding agencies) 
			 Education Funding Agency 
			 National College 
			 Standards and Testing Agency 
			 Teaching Agency 
			 Energy and Climate Change 
			 Department of Energy and Climate Change 
			 Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
			 Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (excluding agencies) 
			 Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency 
			 Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science 
			 Food and Environment Research Agency 
			 OFWAT 
			 Rural Payments Agency 
			 Veterinary Medicines Directorate 
			 ESTYN 
			 ESTYN 
			 Export Credits Guarantee Department 
			 Export Credit Guarantee Department 
			 Food Standards Agency 
			 Food Standards Agency 
			 Foreign and Commonwealth Office 
			 Foreign and Commonwealth Office (excluding agencies) 
			 Foreign and Commonwealth Office Services 
			 Wilton Park Executive Agency 
			 Health 
			 Department of Health (excluding agencies) 
			 Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency 
			 HM Revenue and Customs 
			 HM Revenue and Customs (excluding agencies) 
			 Valuation Office 
			 HM Treasury 
			 HM Treasury (excluding agencies) 
			 Asset Protection Agency 
			 Office for Budget Responsibility 
			 Chancellor's other departments 
			 Debt Management Office 
			 Government Actuary's Department 
			 National Savings and Investments 
			 Home Office 
			 Home Office (excluding agencies) 
			 Criminal Records Bureau 
			 Identity and Passport Service 
			 National Fraud Authority 
			 UK Border Agency 
			 International Development 
			 Department for International Development 
			 Justice 
			 Ministry of Justice (excluding agencies) 
			 Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service 
			 National Archives 
			 National Offender Management Service 
			 The Office of the Public Guardian 
			 Northern Ireland Office 
			 Northern Ireland Office 
			 Office for Standards in Education 
			 Office for Standards in Education 
			 Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation 
			 Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation 
			 Scotland Office 
			 Scotland Office (incl. Office of the Advocate General for Scotland) 
			 Security and Intelligence Services 
			 Security and Intelligence Services 
			 Transport 
			 Department for Transport (excluding agencies) 
			 Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency 
			 Driving Standards Agency 
			 Government Car and Despatch Agency 
			 Highways Agency 
			 Maritime and Coastguard Agency 
			 Office of Rail Regulation 
			 Vehicle Certification Agency 
			 Vehicle and Operator Services Agency 
			 UK Statistics Authority 
			 UK Statistics Authority 
			 UK Supreme Court 
			 UK Supreme Court 
			 Wales Office 
			 Wales Office 
			 Work and Pensions 
			 Department for Work and Pensions 
			 Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission 
			 The Health and Safety Executive 
			 Scottish Government 
			 Scottish Government (excluding agencies) 
			 Accountant in Bankruptcy 
			 Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal 
			 Disclosure Scotland 
			 Education Scotland 
			 Historic Scotland 
			 National Records of Scotland 
			 Office for the Scottish Charity Regulator 
			 Registers of Scotland 
			 Scottish Court Service 
			 Scottish Housing Regulator 
			 Scottish Prison Service Headquarters 
			 Scottish Public Pensions Agency 
			 Student Awards Agency 
			 Transport Scotland 
			 Welsh Government 
			 Welsh Government 
		
	
	(1) Public bodies are grouped according to the sponsoring department, which is highlighted in bold. Where a department does not have any agencies the name will be repeated-for example, Estyn.

Public Health: Responsibility Deal

Lord Rennard: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many of the Public Health Responsibility Deal partners are signatories to the (1) out-of-home calorie labelling pledge, (2) salt reduction pledge, (3) artificial trans fats removal pledge, (4) calorie reduction pledge, (5) salt catering pledge and (6) fruit and vegetables pledge; and of those signatory organisations, how many are fast-food operatives.

Earl Howe: Partner organisations currently signed up to the respective Public Health Responsibility Deal Food Network pledges are as follows:
	out-of-home calorie labelling-46 signatories, includes all seven fast-food companies;salt reduction-77 signatories, includes two fast-food companies;artificial trans fats removal-11 signatories, includes no fast-food companies;there is a further pledge for companies that do not to use artificial trans fats, which has 84 signatories, including all seven fast-food companies;calorie reduction-31 signatories, includes one fast-food company; salt catering: training and kitchen practice-eight signatories, includes one fast-food company;salt catering: reformulation of products as purchased by the customer-seven signatories, includes three fast-food companies;salt catering: procurement-five signatories, includes one fast-food company; andfruit and vegetables-23 signatories, includes one fast-food company.
	The definition of fast food companies is based on those used in analysis of the food service sector. The seven companies are: Burger King; Domino's Pizza; KFC; Pizza Hut; Pret à Manger; McDonald's; and Subway.

Public Health: Responsibility Deal

Lord Rennard: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the consequences, if any, for signatories of the Public Health Responsibility Deal calorie reduction pledge who fail (1) to report on their progress, and (2) to reduce the calorie content of their produce.

Earl Howe: A condition of signing up to the responsibility deal and its pledges is that businesses will report annually on progress against their delivery plans for each of the pledges they are signed up to. Partner delivery plans and annual updates for all Public Health Responsibility Deal pledges are published on the responsibility deal website. This enables transparency of reporting progress against plan. If a business failed to deliver on its pledge then the reasons should be given in the annual update. If a business were no longer able to deliver its pledge, we would expect the business to withdraw from it. Annual updates for 2012-13 are due to be published on the responsibility deal website in summer 2013.
	The Government look to the largest number of companies to make credible commitments against responsibility deal pledges.

Railways: European Rail Traffic Management System

Lord Truscott: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the anticipated timetable for the implementation of the European Rail Traffic Management System in the United Kingdom; and what progress has been made so far.

Earl Attlee: The first major routes to be deployed with the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) will be Great Western Main Line (2017) and East Coast Main Line (2018), followed by Midland Main Line (2021-22) and West Coast Main Line in the late 2020s
	It should be noted that new trains, such as the new Thameslink and Intercity Express trains, will be delivered fitted with ERTMS equipment. The Thameslink core section will be fitted with ERTMS and is expected to be operating under ERTMS control in early 2017.

Railways: Eurostar

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what legislative powers the UK Border Agency has to check Eurostar passengers' tickets.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: Border force officers have the power to examine passengers seeking entry to the UK under paragraph 2(1) of Schedule 2 to the Immigration Act 1971. This power was extended to passengers arriving by rail by Article 7 and Schedule 4 to the Channel Tunnel (International Arrangements) Order 1993.

Railways: High Speed

Lord Truscott: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to comply with European Union Directive 96/48/EC on the noise limits for trans-European high-speed rail systems.

Earl Attlee: HS2 Ltd is developing the new railway in compliance with the European technical specifications for interoperability, which includes the noise specification. Management of noise limits must consider the railway as a complete system within the wider environment. As such, the mitigation of noise is achieved both through measures on the trains themselves and through further measures on the wider railway infrastructure and beyond. HS2 Ltd is developing noise mitigation measures for the new railway which will ensure that compliance is achieved with the noise specification.

Railways: High Speed 2

Lord Truscott: To ask Her Majesty's Government what research they have undertaken on the impact on HS2's forecast passenger numbers should Heathrow be downgraded as a result of the findings of the Independent Airports Commission, and another airport take its place as the United Kingdom's hub airport.

Earl Attlee: The Independent Airports Commission will consider all representations and proposals submitted. The ongoing debate on the UK's status as a hub for global aviation has generated a wide range of options that need to be properly evidenced and assessed. It would not therefore be appropriate to speculate about the implications of a hypothetical situation such as the one proposed. At an appropriate point in the future, the Government will consider any recommendations generated by the commission's work.

Railways: High Speed 2

Lord Truscott: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have requested that the European Rail Agency review the compatibility of the proposed high speeds of HS2 with the technical specifications for interoperability under European Union Directive 96/48/EC on the interoperability of trans-European high-speed rail systems.

Earl Attlee: HS2 Ltd is developing the new railway in compliance with the European technical specifications for interoperability. This includes continued review of and engagement in the emerging revisions of the specifications.

Railways: High Speed 2

Lord Truscott: To ask Her Majesty's Government what analysis they have carried out on the compatibility of their choice for the route of HS2 with the principles in the 2008 Costs Handbook published by the European Commission on ensuring the adequate measurement of the environmental and other external impacts of transport infrastructure projects.

Earl Attlee: In appraising the environmental and other external impacts of transport infrastructure projects during the option selection process, the Department for Transport (DfT) follows its own transport appraisal guidance WebTAG in place of the 2008 European Commission costs handbook. Details of the WebTAG approach can be found at: http://www.dft.gov.uk/webtag/
	WebTAG contains guidance on how option generation and scheme sifting should be conducted and sets out the range of environmental impacts that are to be evaluated. The WebTAG approach has been and will continue to be applied as necessary during the ongoing process of refining the HS2 scheme design.

Railways: High Speed 2

Lord Truscott: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have undertaken any assessment of the likely cost of extending HS2 to Scotland.

Earl Attlee: No assessment has yet been made of the costs of a high-speed line going further north to Scotland. The Department for Transport has started work to understand how best to boost capacity and cut journey times so that Scotland can gain the most benefit from a high-speed Britain.

Railways: Northern Ireland

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to restructure the railways of Northern Ireland to comply with Article 59 of Directive 2012/34/EU on the recast of the first Railway Package.

Earl Attlee: Transport is a devolved matter so the responsibility for ensuring Northern Ireland's compliance with European directives lies with the Northern Ireland Assembly. I understand that Northern Ireland will be considering the structure of its railway industry as part of its process for the transposition of directive 2012/34/EU.

Royal Buckinghamshire Hospital

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of regulation by the Care Quality Commission of the Royal Buckinghamshire Hospital.

Earl Howe: The department monitors the Care Quality Commission's (CQC) financial and operational performance and risks at both a general and strategic level through regular formal accountability meetings. The department does not assess the CQC's inspection or monitoring of specific health and adult social care providers.
	The CQC is responsible for assessing and ensuring the quality of its inspection and monitoring of specific providers on a day-to-day basis. The CQC publishes reports following its inspections on its website. The CQC's annual accounts and annual report are laid before Parliament and it is publicly accountable through parliamentary scrutiny, including Select Committees.
	NHS Buckinghamshire does not commission any service from this hospital. The CQC has provided the following information about the Royal Buckinghamshire Hospital which comprises two locations, the Marguerite Centre Care Home with Nursing and the International Spinal Injuries and Rehabilitation Centre. The CQC received notification that the service at both sites was to close in September 2012. A visit on 24 January 2013 confirmed that the service is not currently operating.
	The CQC inspected the Marguerite Centre Care Home with Nursing on 3 November 2011. The service was found to be compliant but with some improvements required. The CQC inspected the International Spinal Injuries and Rehabilitation Centre on 10 November 2011. The service was found to be compliant but with some improvements required. The CQC does not carry information on inspections conducted before this period.

Royal Buckinghamshire Hospital

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will encourage NHS organisations in Buckinghamshire to provide opportunities for employment for staff of the Royal Buckinghamshire Hospital made redundant due to the financial difficulties at that hospital.[HL5346
	 Question number missing in Hansard, possibly truncated question.

Earl Howe: The Royal Buckinghamshire Hospital is a privately owned rehabilitation centre. Local healthcare organisations, with their knowledge of the patients they serve, are best placed to decide how many doctors, nurses and other health professionals they need for their patients.

Schools: Academies

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the number and status of brokers working in the academies programme, and how many are working in each region; whether they are employed or working as consultants; whether they are being paid wholly or partly by results; and what is the total cost of employing them in the current financial year.

Lord Nash: We currently have a total of 37 brokers working in the academies programme. Of these 28 are school brokers and nine are sponsor development advisers. They are allocated as follows, with some brokers working across more than one region:
	
		
			 East Midlands 3 
			 East of England 4 
			 London 2 
			 North East 5 
			 North West 6 
			 South East 8 
			 South West 4 
			 West Midlands 6 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 5 
		
	
	The brokers are contractors from whom we procure educational expertise and advice.
	The brokers are paid a daily rate and not by results.
	We obviously do not yet have a total figure for employing brokers for the whole of this financial year.
	In the previous financial year (2011-12) the total cost was £2,829,582.59.

Schools: Academies

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the terms of reference and remit of brokers in the academies programme.

Lord Nash: School brokers and sponsor development advisers are contracted to the department to provide education advice services. Schedule 1 of the contracts sets out the services to be supplied, and a copy of both types of contract has been placed in the House Libraries.

Schools: Academies

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government what criteria are used to decide which schools to approach directly through brokers or other Department for Education officials to suggest that they should convert to academies.

Lord Nash: Department officials examine two sets of criteria when considering schools for sponsored academy solutions: the school's performance over time and the results of Ofsted inspections. From these, officials determine which schools they should approach and work with, in order to deliver sustained improvement to that school via a sponsored academy solution.

Schools: Asbestos

Lord Wigley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what system is in place proactively to inspect the standards of asbestos management in (1) local authority schools, and (2) non-local authority schools, in (a) Wales, (b) Scotland, and (c) England.

Lord Nash: The Department for Education does not hold information on the management of schools in Wales and Scotland, as this is a matter for the devolved Administrations.
	The Health and Safety Executive is responsible for enforcement of health and safety legislation in schools across Great Britain. The HSE delivers this role within the framework for health and safety set by the Government in Good Health and Safety, Good for Everyone.
	The HSE has advised that since 2007 it has undertaken three initiatives to sample how schools and local authorities manage asbestos in schools; these inspections involved schools in England, Wales and Scotland. The HSE has no plans to proactively inspect the standards of asbestos management in local authority administered schools, but is planning to inspect a sample of 150 schools that are outside of local authority control. These inspections will take place in 2013-14 and the schools that will be inspected have not yet been selected. The HSE will publish the findings of these inspections to raise awareness of the requirements to manage asbestos in all schools.
	There are legal duties for the management of asbestos under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012. The department published guidance on the management of asbestos for schools in England in October 2012; this guidance is intended to raise awareness among head teachers, governors and other duty-holders to help them to fulfil their responsibilities to manage asbestos effectively in line with the regulations.

Schools: National Curriculum

Lord Crisp: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to maintain modules on Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole in the Schools National Curriculum.

Lord Nash: We published draft programmes of study for all National Curriculum subjects for consultation on Thursday, 7 February. The draft programme of study for history includes both Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole. The consultation will end on 16 April.
	Subject to parliamentary approval, we plan to make the final programmes of study available to schools this autumn so that they can prepare for first teaching from September 2014. More information about our proposals and the consultation is available at: www. education.gov.uk/nationalcurriculum.

Schools: Teachers

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what incentives they offer to individuals who, having already achieved qualified teacher status, wish to re-enter the profession after pursuing other career paths.

Lord Nash: The Teaching Agency offers support to qualified teachers seeking to re-enter the profession through specialist advisers at the Teaching Line and through resources made available on its website. According to the latest available data, around 23,000 people re-entered teaching in the maintained sector in 2009-10 or entered it for the first time having initially pursued a different career.

Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

Lord Harrison: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) how much capital has been invested in United Kingdom small and medium-sized enterprises, and (2) how many jobs have been created, by venture capital trusts since their introduction in 1997.

Lord Deighton: Between 1995-96 and 2011-12, £4.7 billion was raised by venture capital trusts. At least 70% of all funds raised by venture capital trusts are invested in small and medium-sized enterprises.
	HM Revenue and Customs publish National Statistics on the amounts of funds raised by venture capital trusts for each year between 1995-96 and 2011-121. The following table sets out the number of trusts and amount of funds raised since 1995-6.
	
		
			 Venture Capital Trusts 2 
			 Number of trusts and amount of funds raised 
			 Year Funds raised 3 VCTs raising funds in the year 4 VCTs managing funds 5 Rate of income tax relief 6 
			 1995-6 160 12 12 20 
			 1996-7 170 13 18 20 
			 1997-8 190 16 26 20 
			 1998-9 165 11 34 20 
			 1999-00 270 20 43 20 
			 2000-01 450 38 61 20 
			 2001-02 155 45 70 20 
			 2002-03 70 32 71 20 
			 2003-04 70 31 71 20 
			 2004-05 520 58 98 40 
			 2005-06 780 82 108 40 
			 2006-07 270 32 121 30 
			 2007-08 230 54 131 30 
			 2008-09 150 46 129 30 
			 2009-10 340 68 122 30 
			 2010-11 350 78 128 30 
			 2011-12 325 76 124 30 
			 Total 4,665 ** **  
		
	
	There are no data available for the number of jobs that have been created by venture capital trusts.
	1 http://www.hmrc.gov.uk.statistics-vct/table8-6.pdf
	2 The data sources are outside the managerial control of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and therefore we cannot ensure their completeness and quality, hence, this table falls outside the scope of National Statistics.
	3 The amount of funds raised by VCTs raising funds in each tax year, rounded to the nearest £5 million.
	4 The number of VCTs raising funds in each tax year, consisting of both new VCTs raising funds for the first time and existing ones raising further funds.
	5 The number of VCTs in existence in each tax year.
	6 The rate of investors' income tax relief in each tax year capital gains tax deferral relief was available until 5 April 2004.
	** The totals are not given to avoid duplication of number of VCTs as VCTs can raise funds in multiple tax-years.

Smoking: Electronic Cigarettes

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have a policy on electronic cigarettes; and whether there are any current proposals for legislation on electronic cigarettes at United Kingdom or European Union level.

Earl Howe: There are a number of products on the market which claim to contain nicotine, such as electronic cigarettes, which are widely available but are not licensed medicines. Currently, any nicotine-containing product (NCP) which claims or implies that it can treat nicotine addiction is considered to be a medicinal product. This approach has allowed NCPs which do not make such claims to be used and sold without the safeguards built into the regulation of medicinal products.
	In March 2011, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) published the outcome of a public consultation on whether to bring all NCPs within the medicines licensing regime. The response to consultation highlighted the need for further information to inform a decision. The MHRA is currently bringing to a conclusion a period of scientific and market research with a view to a final decision on the application of medicines regulation in spring 2013.
	On 20 December 2012, the European Commission (EC) published a draft revised tobacco products directive with specific provisions for NCPs. The EC proposal is that products containing nicotine above a certain level or concentration may be placed on the market only if they have been authorised as medicinal products on the basis of their quality, safety and efficacy in accordance with medicines legislation. Products containing a lower level or concentration of nicotine could continue to be sold as consumer products but would be required to carry a prominent health warning ("This product contains nicotine and can damage your health") on the front and back of the packaging.
	The United Kingdom Government's position on the proposals will be informed by scientific and market research being co-ordinated by the MHRA.

Social Care: Funding

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they propose to adjust the Northern Ireland block grant in relation to social care funding after the freezing until 2019 of the United Kingdom inheritance tax level at £325,000; and whether an enhanced block grant will depend on the Northern Ireland Executive introducing a cap on the cost of social care similar to that in the rest of the United Kingdom.

Lord Deighton: Social care is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Assembly, so the reforms announced will apply only in England. The Northern Ireland Assembly will receive Barnett consequentials from any changes in UK departmental budgets in the normal way.

Somalia

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to invite Somaliland to the international conference to be co-hosted by the United Kingdom and Somalia on 7 May.

Baroness Warsi: We and the Government of Somalia are currently in the planning stage of the conference. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right honourable friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), has encouraged the Somaliland President to attend.

Surveillance

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty's Government what complaints have been made to the United Kingdom National Contact Point regarding alleged breaches by the United Kingdom company Gamma International of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, in relation to the sale of surveillance software to Bahrain.

Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint: A complaint was received by the UK national contact point (NCP) for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on 1 February 2013. The NCP does not comment on ongoing assessments. Under the NCP's published process, an initial assessment of whether the issues raised merit further examination is made within three months of receiving a complaint. The UK NCP publishes its assessments on its webpage at: https://www.gov.uk/uk-national-contact-point-for-the-organisation-for-economic-co-operation-and-development-oecd-guidelines-for-multinational-enterprises

Syria

Lord Selkirk of Douglas: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their most recent figure for the number of refugees from Syria currently based in (1) Jordan, (2) Lebanon, (3) Turkey, (4) Iraq, and (5) North Africa; and what is their estimate of the number of displaced persons within Syria.

Baroness Northover: As of 19 February, the total number of Syrian refugees registered or awaiting registration was over 862,000, including (1) 271,000 in Jordan, (2) 289,000 in Lebanon, (3) 182,000 in Turkey, (4) 92,000 in Iraq and (5) over 25,000 in north Africa including 18,000 in Egypt. The UN estimated that refugee numbers would reach 1.1 million by mid-2013, but on the current trajectory this figure will probably be reached much sooner. The latest UN estimates indicate that there are over 2 million displaced persons within Syria itself.

Taxation: Inheritance Tax

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are aware of any European Union discussions on draft proposals to legislate on inheritance tax.

Lord Deighton: The European Union has not made any proposals to legislate on inheritance tax, an area which remains a member state competence. If any EU legislative proposals were to be put forward, they would be subject to parliamentary scrutiny in the usual manner.
	The Commission's most recent publications on inheritance tax covered the topic of how member states can work together to relieve double taxation. The documents can be accessed through the Commission's website1. The related Explanatory Memorandum and correspondence are available in the Library of the House.
	1 http://ec.europa.euitaxation customs/taxation/personal tax/inheritance/index en.htm

Terrorism

Lord Turnberg: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, in the light of a recent report by the Bulgarian authorities which concluded that Hezbollah was responsible for the terrorist attack in Burgas in 2012, they will encourage the European Union to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation.

Baroness Warsi: The official Bulgarian investigation into the Burgas bus bombing on 18 July 2012 has implicated individuals from Hezbollah's military wing. This is an assessment that the UK shares. The EU must now collectively decide how to respond. Based on our national proscription, we believe there is a strong case for EU designation of the military wing of Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation. We are actively discussing this with our EU partners.

Thailand

Baroness Goudie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the European Commissioner regarding the cut in European Union aid to the Border Consortium in Thailand.

Baroness Northover: DfID officials regularly discuss funding to the Thai/Burma border, including assistance to the Thailand Border Consortium (TBC), with the European Union and other donors. The most recent discussions were held at the Donor and Humanitarian Agencies Working Group on 5 February in Bangkok, when all donors discussed their future funding plans for TBC. DfID noted our recent increase in support to TBC. The European Commission Humanitarian Office confirmed that it was cutting basic food and shelter rations to TBC, but increasing support to livelihoods and preparation for return inside the camps.

Thames Tideway Tunnel

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what were the dates of (1) the data used, and (2) the conclusions, of the cost-benefit calculations on which the decision to build the Thames Tideway Tunnel was made.

Lord De Mauley: Defra published a regulatory impact assessment on sewage collection and treatment for London in March 2007 and a Costs and Benefits of the Thames Tunnel document in November 2011 (as an annexe to a strategic and economic case for the Thames Tideway Tunnel). Both documents listed the sources of their data. Defra also published in February 2012 a list of the evidence associated with the case for the tunnel (with the relevant dates of publication), entitled the Thames Tunnel Evidence Assessment.

Uganda

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, following Norway's recent recovery of 4.2 million dollars in misused aid funds from Uganda, in co-operation with the Office of the Auditor General of Uganda, the Department for International Development has received any similar reimbursement of aid funds from Uganda, or from any other country.

Baroness Northover: DfID is undertaking a forensic audit of the Office of the Ugandan Prime Minister to determine whether any UK aid has been misused. Once the results are available we will be taking appropriate action to recover any funds deemed to have been misappropriated. It is our expectation that any misused funds will be promptly repaid.

UN: Ruggie Principles

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will be defining the United Nations Ruggie principles and how to apply them to forthcoming trade missions, in particular the mission in February to Guatemala on mining, energy and infrastructure.

Baroness Warsi: The Government have been working on a UK strategy on business and human rights-based on the UN guiding principles on business and human rights-and hopes to launch this soon. The strategy will express clearly the Government's expectation that British companies will show respect for human rights in their operations. We shall place great importance on communicating this message to companies, including those going on trade missions overseas and including the mission travelling shortly to Guatemala, and shall alert business people to the human rights situations relevant to the countries in which they do, or hope to do, business.

Violence Against Women

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they adopt the United Nations' definition of violence against women and girls, which includes prostitution and human trafficking.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The UK joined consensus on the 1993 UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (UN General Assembly resolution 48/104), and thereby agreed the UN definition of violence against women. This definition includes forced prostitution and human trafficking.

Visas

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have made any response to the British Council's press statement on 12 December expressing concerns about the Home Secretary's announcement that the UK Border Agency will conduct more than 100,000 interviews of prospective students in countries that are deemed to be high-risk for visa abuse.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The Government have not responded to the British Council's press statement of 12 December.

Waste Management: Brofiscin Quarry

The Countess of Mar: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the "appropriate persons" for the remediation of Brofiscin Quarry have been determined.

Lord De Mauley: Remediation of the Brofiscin Quarry site was completed last year. The Environment Agency is currently in an advanced stage of negotiation with three organisations for the recovery of costs by way of a voluntary contribution. While the organisations remain those that the Environment Agency considers to be liable for the contamination at Brofiscin, to date they cannot be formally determined as the "Appropriate Persons" in accordance with the contaminated land regime if the Environment Agency is to resolve these matters by way of negotiated agreement.

Water Management: Urban Waste Water

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will place in the Library of the House copies of all notes of meetings, correspondence and other communications they have had with the European Commission following the judgment of the European Court of Justice in Case C-301/10 dated 18 October 2012, on urban waste water treatment in accordance with the Aarhus Convention of 1998; and how they plan to facilitate the related requirement for "public participation in environmental decision-making" on environmental issues relating to that judgment.

Lord De Mauley: Our obligations under the Aarhus convention with respect to access to information are subject to the requirements of the EU Environmental Information Directive (2003/4/EC), transposed nationally by the Environmental Information Regulations 2004. These regulations provide that environmental information held by public authorities, including Defra, may be the subject of a request to make it publicly available, subject to certain exemptions. In line with these exemptions we do not intend to publish any communications with the European Commission regarding compliance with the judgment of the Court in Case C-301/10 as we believe that disclosure would adversely affect the current discussions and our relations with the European Commission.
	With regard to public participation duties under the Aarhus convention, these are covered by EU legislation, including the Public Participation Directive (2003/35/EC), the Industrial Emissions Directive (2010/75/EU) and the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive (2011/92/EU), transposed nationally by legislation on planning, environmental impact assessments and environmental permitting. Applications or proposals may engage public consultation duties under this legislation. We do not believe that there are currently any environmental issues relating to the Court judgment which engage these duties, over and above issues on which previous consultations have taken place.

Wildlife: Illegal Trade

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the decisions of the governments of Botswana and Zambia to outlaw trophy hunting.

Lord De Mauley: The UK Government have noted with interest the decisions by the Governments of Botswana and Zambia to prohibit trophy hunting but have made no specific assessment of their potential impact.